Clean and Sober
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''Clean and Sober'' is a 1988 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Glenn Gordon Caron Glenn Gordon Caron (born April 3, 1954), sometimes credited as Glenn Caron, is an American writer, director, and producer, best known for the television series ''Moonlighting'' in the 1980s and ''Medium'' in the 2000s. He lives in Los Angeles, Cal ...
and starring
Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...
as a
real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...
struggling with a substance abuse problem. This film served as Keaton's first dramatic departure from comedies. The supporting cast includes
Kathy Baker } Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Suppor ...
, M. Emmet Walsh, Morgan Freeman,
Luca Bercovici Luca Bercovici (born February 22, 1957) is an American filmmaker, writer, producer and actor. In 1979, as part Bercovici's earliest involvements in filmmaking he spent six months in Japan as a dialogue director for the miniseries, ''Shōgun (1980 ...
and
Tate Donovan Tate Buckley Donovan (born September 25, 1963) is an American actor, comedian and television director. He is known for portraying Tom Shayes in ''Damages'', Jimmy Cooper in '' The O.C.'', and the voice of the title character in the 1997 Disney ...
.
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
, who previously directed Keaton in the comedies '' Night Shift'' (1982) and '' Gung Ho'' (1986), served as co-producer.


Plot

Daryl Poynter is a successful but self-destructive
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
real estate salesman who is addicted to
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
. He embezzles $92,000 of his company's money from an
escrow An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacti ...
account and then loses $52,000 to his addiction and the stock market. Waking up one morning next to a woman who suffered a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
from a cocaine overdose, he tries to cover up the drug use, but the
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
make it clear that they know what happened. There is also the matter of the company's money. Daryl goes to the airport to try to flee the country but his credit card is declined and he has no cash. His colleague Martin also refuses to put him up for a couple of weeks. Daryl then learns of a drug rehabilitation program on the radio which lasts about a month and which guarantees anonymity. He checks in, figuring he can hide out there. While in rehab he meets Craig, a tough but supportive drug rehabilitation counselor. With great difficulty, Craig helps Daryl to realize he is an addict and that his life is complete chaos. He says to him, "The best way to break old habits is to make new ones." At a 12-step meeting, Daryl meets the older, reformed addict Richard Dirks who will act as his sponsor. Richard eventually encourages Daryl to confess at work what he's done with the money. He is promptly fired. Daryl becomes attracted to a fellow patient, a woman named Charlie Standers. She is a steel foundry worker who is addicted to alcohol and cocaine. Charlie is involved in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Lenny, a fellow addict to whom Charlie acts as a codependent. Daryl falls in love with Charlie and urges her to leave Lenny. He finally succeeds, only to witness Lenny's manipulative way of winning her back. Daryl tries to remain in Charlie's life to help her stay sober. After another fight with Lenny, she leaves the house, does a hit of cocaine (and perhaps return to Daryl) and is killed in a car accident. In despair, Daryl also feels a strong temptation to return to drugs. He visits Richard, who talks him out of it. Richard also explains he couldn't have saved Charlie as only the addict can take responsibility for themself. Near the story's end, Daryl, confused but hopeful and reborn, accepts his 30 Day Sobriety Coin in front of an audience of fellow members, as he tells his story. The film ends with a distorted shot of cars taking off into the night.


Cast

*
Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...
as Daryl Poynter *
Kathy Baker } Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Suppor ...
as Charlie Standers * Morgan Freeman as Craig * M. Emmet Walsh as Richard Dirks *
Luca Bercovici Luca Bercovici (born February 22, 1957) is an American filmmaker, writer, producer and actor. In 1979, as part Bercovici's earliest involvements in filmmaking he spent six months in Japan as a dialogue director for the miniseries, ''Shōgun (1980 ...
as Lenny *
Tate Donovan Tate Buckley Donovan (born September 25, 1963) is an American actor, comedian and television director. He is known for portraying Tom Shayes in ''Damages'', Jimmy Cooper in '' The O.C.'', and the voice of the title character in the 1997 Disney ...
as Donald *
Claudia Christian Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan August 10, 1965) is an American actress, singer and author, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on '' Babylon 5'', as Captain Maynard on Fox's ''9-1-1'', and as the voice of Hera on the N ...
as Iris *
Brian Benben Brian Edward Benben (born June 18, 1956) is an American actor, best known for his role as Martin Tupper in the HBO comedy television series '' Dream On'' (1990–1996), and also known as Sheldon Wallace on ABC medical drama '' Private Practice'' ...
as Martin *
Henry Judd Baker Henry Judd Baker (died August 28, 2016) was an American actor known for such films and television shows as Oliver Stone's ''Seizure'', ''Clean and Sober'', '' The Mighty Quinn'', William Friedkin's '' Cruising'' and ''Dark Shadows ''Dark Sha ...
as Xavier * J. David Krassner as Tiller *
Dakin Matthews Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews (born November 7, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar. Best known as Herb Kelcher in ''My Two Dads'' (1987–1989), Hanlin Charleston in ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) ...
as Bob * Ben Piazza as Kramer * Rachel Ryan as Karen Peluso


Reception

''Clean and Sober'' received generally favorable reviews at the time. Roger Ebert praised the "superb supporting performances" and noted, "Although the subject matter of this film is commonplace in our society...the actual process of surrender and recovery is hardly ever the subject of films, maybe because it seems too depressing." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wondered if the film was "perhaps too grim." In the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'',
Sheila Benson Sheila Benson (December 4, 1930February 23, 2022) was an American journalist and film critic. She served as film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1981 to 1991. Early life and education Benson was born in New York City on December 4, 193 ...
wrote:
he film'scharacters, particularly Keaton’s self-destructive Daryl and Kathy Baker’s seductive, wavering fellow addict Charlie, are daringly and consummately played. With anyone as scuzzy as Daryl--and to think of a character his equal you probably have to go back to ''
Sweet Smell of Success ''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick fr ...
''--part of the fascination comes from seeing how deep the fault line runs. Caron and Carroll have managed the almost impossible; there is truly no reading Daryl until the last second of the last scene.
On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds a 53% approval rating based on reviews from 15 critics, with an average score of 5.4/10. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F. Then- U.S. President Ronald Reagan viewed this film at Camp David on September 17, 1988.


Awards

Michael Keaton won the 1988
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor is an annual award given by the National Society of Film Critics to honor the best leading actor of the year. Winners * † = Winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor * ‡ = Nominated ...
for his performances in both ''Clean and Sober'' and ''
Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American fantasy horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, and Warren Skaaren, produced by The Geffen Company, distributed by Warner Bros., and starring Alec Baldwin, ...
''.


References


External links

* * * {{Ron Howard 1980s English-language films 1988 directorial debut films 1988 drama films 1988 films American drama films Films about alcoholism Films about drugs Films directed by Glenn Gordon Caron Films scored by Gabriel Yared Films set in Philadelphia Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in Pennsylvania Films shot in Delaware Imagine Entertainment films Warner Bros. films 1980s American films