Permanent midnight review:
WARNING: There will be spoilers if you care about such
a thing.
This movie was released in 1998 and stars many great actors
(Maria Bello, Owen Wilson, Elizabeth Hurley, Fred Willard, Janeane Garofalo,
and the main character is portrayed by Ben Stiller – Who I am not so fond of
but I guess he did alright in this movie)
This movie is based on the book of the same name authored by
Jerry Stahl, Whom is also the main character as this story chronicles his
life…or at least a brief part of (the ins and outs of his addiction) and according
to his IMDB profile shows that he has gone on to be very successful in his
career which I am delighted to see as this can give most people that have
battled with chemical dependency hope as well as show people that are not so
familiar with the battle that recovery works and that people can go on to
become successful.
So the movie takes place after Stahl has just done a 92 day
stint in a rehabilitative facility and gets picked up by “Kittie” (M. Bello) as
he is working in a fast food restaurant as part of his recovery program,
Whispering Winds. Stahl and Kittie then
go back to a motel for sex and conversation as he entails his story to his new-found
romantic partner and the movie bounces back and forth between Stahl telling his
story to Kittie and Stahl’s journey through his addiction.
Stahl reveals that he was chemically dependent on pills,
marijuana, and “whatever is lying around.”
His very good friend, Nicky (O. Wilson), introduces him to Sandra (E.
Hurley), whom is in need of a green card and utilizes Stahl’s citizenship
through matrimony in order to stay in the U.S.A. Apparently, Stahl was getting “a little too
fucked up in New York so I’ll move out to California and get away from drugs.” So in short, Stahl married Sandra to help her
get her green card. Sandra helped Stahl
get a writing job on the show Mr. Chompers (which in real life represents his time
writing for the show ALF). Stahl’s
addiction exacerbated as he bounced around writing for different popular
television shows. His friends and acquaintances
(especially Sandra) witnessed his deterioration and repeatedly asked him to get
some help. Finally he gets help, after
repeated attempts and fails and this is where his telling his own story cycles
to the now of him meeting Kittie and parting with her at the motel and going
back “home” and starting a new life of recovery (which the movie ends there as
we are to assume he is still in recovery today.
(Now here are the 5 questions I will
be answering about each movie I review)
Would I recommend
this title to future clients?
Did this film depict
chemical dependency in a real and honest way?
Why/Why Not?
There were parts that seemed very real to me, yes.
1.
In the beginning of the movie when Stahl and
Kittie are scrumping in the hotel room, Stahl seems to have performance issues
(not with his hard on per se, but immediately stops and apologizes)…Kittie ensures
him that she understands, “The first time anyone touched me after I got clean,
I thought ‘Jesus, that’s why I needed drugs!’”
This is definitely something I could relate to. After being in active addiction for so long,
when one first starts their recovery it can be difficult to remember how to do
things sober and dealing with the intensity of emotion and other senses
again. Especially if it has been a
really long time since one has been sober.
The world and experiencing things can seem brand-effing-new.
2.
When Stahl informs Kittie that he decided to
move out to California (from NY) to get away from drugs. This was another very realistic thing, as
many chemically dependent people come up with a plan to quit and moving away
from the problem is one of these schemes that *we* come up with. ((For those that are not aware of this common
scheme, usually the chem.-depper* decides to do this and they remove themselves
from the ‘problematic city’ but it is not necessarily the fault of the
location, as we take ourselves with us wherever we go. Meaning: You can take the addict away from
the drugs but you can’t take the drugs away from the addict! If *we* can find it where we currently
reside, we can find it anywhere. It’s
only a matter of time before the chem.-depper finds what they are looking for…whether
they realize they are looking for it (drugs) or not!
3.
The situation where Nicky (O. Wilson) is looking
for the pills that he had stashed at Sandra’s house and Stahl was with
him. Why he would stash pills where a
known addict has access to and make the “hiding spot” known to Stahl is beyond
me. But realistic because, yes, Stahl
took the pills and acts like he is unbeknownst as to their whereabouts and
helps him look for the pills. I’ve known
fellow addicts that would do this. I,
myself, was not one to take things that did not belong to me (which is rare, I
know) but I have seen others do this, look for something they know they will
not find but they must keep up the act of innocence in order to convince their “friend”
of such. I have also been the victim in
this situation. Then Nicky comes up with “Diagram of a scam,” as he calls it as
he blames the missing pills on a twelve-year-old kid and Stahl seems relieved
as his body language and facial expressions seem to show worriment as he
probably fears that Nicky will try to blame him for the missing pills.
4.
Stahl keeps up with a health regimen of eating
healthy and jogging 5 miles a day.
Believe or not there are people in active addiction that try to make up
for the unhealthy poisons they put in their bodies and/or keep up with “healthy”
appearances to others. Perhaps most of
us do this but in different ways.
5.
Stahl is
often late. This is definitely realistic
as it is definitely often a fault of people in active addiction. – Hell this is even a terrible tendency of
mine even whilst I am in recovery. I
used to be a very punctual person and would even arrive 30 minutes early to my
obligatory functions and affairs. This
is one thing I definitely still need to improve on.
6.
Stahl is said to have had a $6K/day habit. Most people would be baffled by this.
Is this movie more
about Recovery or drugs/addiction?
It’s more about the addiction. Although it shows Stahl trying to recovery
repeatedly, the movie more focuses on the ins and outs of Stahl’s addiction. The
beginning of recovery is where the story starts and ends.
Is this movie
uplifting or just sad?
I would say neither but it does have a positive message in
an abstract perspective and shows some of Stahl’s low points in his addiction.
Best and worst
moments?
Humorous/best moment:
Stahl meets a new friend/dealer, Gus (Peter Greene), and Gus
takes Stahl to an abandoned office building and they smoke some crack as the
song Smack my Bitch up plays and they
run around this empty office room on a floor pretty high up as they jump up
against a big window that overlooks the city, as if they are trying to jump
through the window (but the window does not break). Gus then proceeds to throw Stahl around and it’s
just funny to see Ben Stiller get thrown around by Peter Greene, who towers
over him.
Train wreck
moment: many moments could be “train-wreck
moments” especially the one where he goes into his work on the show (which is
supposed to be moonlighting which was his job after the Mr. Chompers aka ALF
show) and he bumps into someone immediately after walking in the door and is
sweating profusely then asks the receptionist for a glass of water then
proceeds to go sit before the main character of the show (who is supposed to be
Sybil Sheppard) and the producer (?) and tells them his story ideas. Stahl’s speech is so fast and crazy at this point;
he pours the water into a mug and downs the entire thing, finishes his tirade then
begins to swat at his brow and twitches a little. The narration explains he was fired
immediately.
Next Movie I will
be reviewing: Down to the Bone,
2004.
Explanations & Rant:
*Chem-depper –a term I use for us chemically dependent
martyrs
Rant:
Yes, Martyr because we euphorically fit the definition:
1.
Somebody
put to death; somebody who chooses to die rather than deny a strongly held
belief, especially a religious belief
Metaphorically *we*
were put to death by our own hand. (now
I will only speak of me and not “we” since I’d rather not be snubbed for
generalizing but perhaps most can empathize)
And I definitely
DIED a couple times when I was IN active addiction, making stupid choices, and
then the final decision to kill off that life and the person I was. And what was the strongly held belief? I couldn’t live without drugs.
And put to death
because most people in recovery understand that we are no longer the person we
were and we can no longer be the person we were even before we became
chemically dependent. Why? Because it
will only eventually take us back to using the chemicals and poisons we loved
so much. I was reborn and I love being
the new me that I am today.
2.
Somebody
who makes sacrifices; somebody who makes sacrifices or suffers greatly in
order to advance a cause or principle
I made sacrifices
of plenty in order to advance my cause (recovery) and (spiritual) principles.
3.
Somebody
in pain; somebody who experiences frequent or constant pain from something
Pain will always be
our teachers, especially those that are fellow chem.-deppers and can understand
this.
So Martyrs, to me, yes we are. I don’t care if people want to argue this
with me. You will not win.
And just to be clear (as I know
infliction is impossible to portray through text), I say *we* as in us and use
the term chem.-deppers as in those
that are either still battling their bouts or in recovery. I have nothing but empathy and love for my fellow
“chem.-deppers.” As we all have our significant
stories, sacrifices, and pains.
*Feel Free to drop me a line with suggestions, questions, and comments.
LNR
