Category: Smashed

Film critic Roger Ebert has reviewed Smashed. Here’s what he had to say about the film:

One of the tales of folklore around Alcoholics Anonymous is that if your spouse joins AA, “it” will take him or her away from you. What’s much more likely to happen is that if your spouse sobers up and you continue to drink alcoholically, your partner may no longer be able to stand you. Marriages have been saved by AA, but usually when both drinking spouses sober up, or if one already is. If a spouse wants you to continue drinking just to be good company, what does that say about that person?

James Ponsoldt’s Toronto entry “Smashed” is an intelligent film about marriage and alcoholism. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Kate, a maintenance drinker who steals a swing of beer after her morning shower and sips from a flask in the parking lot outside her job–as a grade school teacher. Non-alcoholics may find it difficult to understand how common a version of this behavior is. Drinkers may find it quite possible that she pukes into a wastebasket in front of her kids.

Finally dragged to an AA meeting by a colleague, Kate meets Jenny (Octavia Spencer, who you may remember as the most sensible character in “The Help,” for which she won an Oscar as best supporting actress). Her new life doesn’t much interest Kate’s husband Charlie (Aaron Paul) or her boozy mom (Mary Kay Place, in a spot-on performance). Give Charlie credit: As long as he stays topped up, he doesn’t much mind how Kate spends her evenings. Eventually she will begin minding how he spend his.

Yes, you read the title right! The trailer for Smashed is finally here and it is SO amazing! Totally going to watch this a few more times. Screencaps will be up soon, but in the meantime, enjoy the trailer!

Edit– the official poster is now in the gallery.

As the title reads, Screen Crush has released their review for Smashed and gave the film a really nice review. Below is part of the review, and you can read the full review by clicking the link above:

Here’s what a jerk might think looking in on an AA meeting. “Why do they each have to get up and speak? They’re all a bunch of drunks who hit rock bottom, ruined their lives and are now struggling to get their act together, right? We know the drill.”

Those who’ve lived through it (or studied it) understand that “sharing” is a key part of recovery, and that each story is unique. ‘Smashed,’ an independently produced recovery tale poised to launch Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an absolute A-lister, is a remarkable piece of work. It is sad, funny and wise. There’s nothing in it that you haven’t seen before, but to bear witness is a total emotional workout and a journey absolutely worth taking.

Winstead’s Kate is a blast to be around. She’s sharp and witty and, yeah, drinks a beer in the shower, sips from a flask in her car and, oops, gets the dry heaves at work. Unfortunately work is as a first grade teacher, so that’s a little more than inappropriate. At some point along the way she went from fun girl to functioning alcoholic to not-so-functioning alcoholic, and is now becoming aware of it. (Her first puffs on a crack pipe and waking up under a bridge are the other big clues.)

In ‘Smashed,’ the painful truths of recovery are laid bare: it never gets easy. Everyone has slip-ups, everyone hurts their loved ones, everyone encounters skeptics that insist it isn’t “really a disease.” In terms of shattering skepticism, I’d like to officially apologize for all the times I’ve shrugged off Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Yes, she was foxy in ‘Death Proof’ and, yes, she was adorable in ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,’ but she was a snooze in ‘The Thing’ and in ‘Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.’ Here she shows what all those casting directors saw, genuine originality and talent. Again, there’s nothing all that new in the overall arc of ‘Smashed,’ so it’s all weighing on Winstead’s shoulders. She doesn’t miss a beat, and we root for her from the very first frame. Considering the usual dearth of great roles for women and the recent trend of highlighting a young up and comer, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see her name tossed around during awards season.

Final Rating: 8/10

With SMASHED being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this week, a couple of sites have released their reviews about Mary, as well as the film itself in general. Here’s what ComingSoon.net had to say about the film:

We’re big fans of Mary Elizabeth Winstead and her underrated ability to deliver deadpan lines in a funny way and handle more dramatic material, and this feels like the role that gives her the chance to really fly. Kate is the definition of an obnoxious drunk and Winstead’s portrayal of someone that out of control gets grating at times. We know that it’s wrong to laugh but it’s also hard not to since Kate’s out of control is funny at times… or maybe we’re just laughing at the awkardness of the situations. That’s actually one of the things about “Smashed” that’s intriguing in the barometer it creates in what the audience will find funny.

The Film Stage can’t wait for the film to be released into theaters after writing the following:

Delivering my favorite performance of Sundance was Mary Elizabeth Winstead, with her heartbreaking turn as an alcoholic in Smashed. While there are some conveniences in the story’s structure, they do not detract from this powerful showing from a promising up-and-comer. A single scene where Winstead smiles, talking about her addiction, then sinks into sorrow just moments later epitomizes the talent on display here.

Also, Yahoo named Mary one of the fresh faces of 2012 because of her role in SMASHED: Continue reading New Reviews for Smashed