The acting of both Anthony LaPaglia as the alcoholic and Eric Stoltz as his loyal friend Levine is faultless. Anthony LaPaglia in particular is stunning in the lead role of Ryan Tulley Jnr. and more than matches his superb performance as Leon in "Lantana". He imbues the character of Tulley with such charisma that one can readily understand why Levine and Tulley's girlfriend Natalie are so willing to care for him when his health breaks down.The story revolves around a disaffected middle aged man with a writer's block of seventeen years duration, his only recourse being to the bottle. But be warned the graphic detailing of his consequent health problems including vomiting, hemorrhages and colostomy bags may be too harrowing for some. Do not fear though, the movie is not without its humorous interludes. Plus the most tender love scene ever!This is an excellent,absorbing and moving little film, and an absolute must-see for all those Stoltz and LaPaglia fans out there!!

I saw this film at the Austin Film Festival and enjoyed it immensely. It is much superior to most Hollywood schlock and slash. It has a literate script, interesting characters, witty banter, and a fine blend of tragedy and comedy (or was it comedy and tragedy?) that is difficult to finesse. Although some of the subject matter is dark, it remains comic -- not in the broad, rowdy M*A*S*H sense, but in a charming, everyday, real-life sense. The film's courage to be honest about how someone's self-inflicted tragedy doesn't necessarily consume everyone around him was refreshing, and the life-goes-on message is honest and not cliched. There are fine lead performances by Anthony LaPaglia, Eric Stoltz, and Caroleen Feeney, and a great turn as a comic villain by Tom Sadoski. His comedy is wickedly balanced by a more darkly villainous Robert Vaughn. The tone of the film hangs in between, in tipsy harmony. This film deserves a well-publicized theater run. See it!

i never pick out movies i know nothing about but this time i did... and I dug it. Sure it felt like a made for TV movie. Sure the filming was rather bland, predictable... but the writing was really good! Not perfect, but fun and entertaining, and the acting was very good. Stoltz was surprisingly low-key.. I guess he always is, but in this one he was super low-key. I was touched.

Story did have overtones of many other alkie movies I've seen, which at first put me off, but it was still set apart by the genuine feel of the story.

Overall, it was a humble little movie. Smallish production values. But sweet and sincere...

But when they were drunk, they really didn't seem that drunk... except once or twice... and the DTs are always hard to watch (remember Nicholas cage in leaving las Vegas?)