As another poster has said, every acting student should watch this film. It is basically a series of monologues, most by some of the best actors out there (some of whom hadn't yet hit stardom when this was made). So they're beautifully delivered. But you can easily stop in the middle (I did) and come back with no real impact on your experience. There is one dramatic through-line, but it's pretty predictable and not particularly engaging (if, again, well-acted). Personally, I'm not surprised Richard Lewis can act, and he does so well here.
One problem is so many TV shows today are written by people who are themselves in recovery that there isn't much about the subject that hasn't been portrayed - quite aside from the fact that many today will have first or at least second hand with addiction. So even the best-acted monologues tend to sound a little hackneyed or over-familiar. (One thing about addiction is that it's pretty monotonous as a story, especially in reality.) There are some nice touches, notably the focus on the free food and the ubiquitous cigarettes (it used to be in LA you could spot the meetings by all the people smoking outside on the breaks). And (tragically today) Spaulding Grey does a nice comic turn as a self-deluding choir director. As it happens, I just saw Faye Dunaway playing a protective mother on "Columbo" and we see some of that here too. There are also "types" (including the person who casually violates the anonymity of a famous person they've seen at a meeting, the person who just rambles because they like an audience) that are real enough. But the film as a whole isn't particularly engaging. For a really strong, sustained piece on addiction, see "Permanent Midnight". But I'm sure there are others - it's one of the decades' subjects.
One problem is so many TV shows today are written by people who are themselves in recovery that there isn't much about the subject that hasn't been portrayed - quite aside from the fact that many today will have first or at least second hand with addiction. So even the best-acted monologues tend to sound a little hackneyed or over-familiar. (One thing about addiction is that it's pretty monotonous as a story, especially in reality.) There are some nice touches, notably the focus on the free food and the ubiquitous cigarettes (it used to be in LA you could spot the meetings by all the people smoking outside on the breaks). And (tragically today) Spaulding Grey does a nice comic turn as a self-deluding choir director. As it happens, I just saw Faye Dunaway playing a protective mother on "Columbo" and we see some of that here too. There are also "types" (including the person who casually violates the anonymity of a famous person they've seen at a meeting, the person who just rambles because they like an audience) that are real enough. But the film as a whole isn't particularly engaging. For a really strong, sustained piece on addiction, see "Permanent Midnight". But I'm sure there are others - it's one of the decades' subjects.