When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)

A Classic!

Bought this for a girl! I've never actually watched this movie!
Only reviewing because Amazon asked to me review my purchases!

Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia, it must be good! June 28, 2008

When a Man Loves a Woman

I loved this movie! Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan were very good in this movie. Meg plays an alcoholic mother and Andy is her husband attempting to keep the family together during her rehab process. I thought the acting was very good, and the story line was captivating. Very enjoyable, but also will pull on your heartstrings. April 6, 2008

When a Man Loves a Woman

I thought this was going to be a romantic comedy, but was disappointed to find this a dark and depressing drama. It is a story about how being an alcoholic can affect a family and the journey they have to take to stay together. Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia play a married couple, and Meg is the one with the alcohol addiction. The saying about hitting rock bottom would definitely apply to this film. The audience sees Meg slowly spiral completely out of control, and how low she has to go until she finally is ready to reach out for help. Her family has to come to terms with the fact that she will not be the same person she was as a drunk. When Meg emerges from rehab, everyone is on edge with her - not only her family, but friends and acquaintances too. Everyone has adjustments to make.
March 26, 2008

Not my cuppa tea.

Not a totally off-the-mark depiction of the effects of alcoholism on families, but over-the-top acting and embarrassingly bad dialogue here and there, especially at the end. And it's a little unbelievable to see Meg Ryan having turned from sweet-and-perky-but-screwed-up, pre-rehab, to "Don't 'f' with me" street-tuff, post-rehab. Best thing about this semi-soap, from my female perspective, is gazing at the always easy-on-the-eye Andy Garcia. MUCH better movies about addiction and recovery: Drunks (Richard Lewis), Jesus' Son (Billy Crudup), Clean and Sober (Michael Keaton) and the excellent, early-60's "Days of Wine and Roses" (Jack Lemmon), if you can wince through Mancini's syrupy-yucky title track. (But it won the Oscar for best song, so what do I know. Different times, I guess.) January 27, 2008

An accurate portrayal of the destructive force that is alcoholism...

It's a little heavy-handed and comes off a bit syrupy at the end, but `When a Man Loves a Woman' is an effective tear-jerker of a drama that accurately handles the tragedy that is alcoholism. It manages to take no sides in the matter and portray both spectrums of the disease, looking objectively at the alcoholic themselves as well as the sober mate as he tries to pick up the pieces. It refuses to really place any blame, even when it tells you that it is and I think that was a wise step since there really is no blame to be placed in situations like this. You get better, you move forward. When you stop to point the finger you regress.

The film takes a look at a middle class suburban family torn to pieces because of the wife's battle with alcohol. Alice Green seems to be the perfect mother and spouse from the outside but she harbors a dirty secret. She hides her problem from her family; her husband included, but when things really hit their bottom there is no denying what needs to be done. Alice enters rehab in order to clean up, to get sober and stay there to protect her family. This leaves a strain on her husband Michael to take care of their two daughters Jessica and Casey, as well as work and take care of the home. The stress of having his wife away from him, not knowing how she is doing at all times, eats away at him and causes divisions between him and others that he comes in contact with, like the Green's housekeeper Amy.

What I love so much about this film is that it exposes the fact that the disease is not the only problem causing agent. Most people feel that when one suffers from a substance problem they can fix it and move on and everything will be better but the fact remains that that is not the case. When Alice returns home, sober and clean, her fights with Michael intensify to the point where they start to loathe one another. It casts a light on the fact that the rehabilitation process is just as painful sometimes as the disease itself. People change when they are sober, and that is brought to the forefront too. It's clear that, while he doesn't want to admit it, Michael misses the woman his wife was when she was drunk. He misses her wild side as well as his ability to put her back together when she fell to pieces. It's a time of adjustment, not just for the `sick' mate but for the entire family.

Meg Ryan is astonishing here. It sickens me to know she was snubbed of the Oscar nomination (she's my personal winner this year) for her performance is so accurate and effortless. She manages to display every confused emotion you'd expect to see from an alcoholic going through rehab. She manages to capture her character brilliantly. Andy Garcia works here, but his performance doesn't carry the same weight as Ryan's. He manages to capture the confusion and pain of the worried spouse well but he's almost too subtle at times, so subtle that his outbursts seem a bit theatrical. Tina Majorino is amazing as the eldest daughter Jessica. She was quite the star in 94 with `When a Man Loves a Woman' and `Corrina, Corrina' coming out back to back and showcasing this young girls talent.

In the end `When a Man Loves a Woman' delivers. It really works as a dramatic film to capture the harsh realities of alcoholism and even teaches the viewer of the consequences that come from all sides of the equation. Like I mentioned in the beginning, the film is a bit heavy handed. It tries really hard to make this as tragic as can be. It also comes off syrupy at the end, as in `let's make this as devastating as possible that way when everything gets fixed the whole audience will burst into tears'. Sadly, I hated the ending. It was too corny for my taste and took away from the film's feeling of reality, at least in my opinion. But, the entire film leading up to the last thirty seconds is phenomenal and deserves major attention. Even if `When a Man Loves a Woman' is not you cup of tea you must admit that Meg Ryan chews up the scenery like it were candy and delivers an orgasmic performance worthy of much praise and admiration. November 20, 2007

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