Sundance 2012 is over and final reviews and wrap-ups of people who’ve attended Sundance have released their recaps and favorite films of the festival.
Here’s what ComingSoon had to say about Smashed:
James Ponsoldt’s look at alcoholism featured an absolutely fantastic performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a school teacher whose fun-loving alcohol-fueled life style with her husband (Aaron Paul from “Breaking Bad”) leads to her guiltily joining AA. There’s lots of drama but it’s also a movie with lots of humor especially in some of the things Winstead gets into while drunk, and Ponsoldt’s ability to mix humor and drama is rounded out by great supporting roles by Megan Mullaly, Octavia Spencer and especially Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation”) who is fantastic in a role that mixes the two. We’re shocked this hasn’t been picked up for distribution yet because it has a cool indie tone that could appeal to a wider audience similar to last year’s 50/50.
And here’s FirstShowing‘s top 5 favorite, the first one for Smashed coming in at #2 from Alex Billington and the second from another writer on the same site:
#2 – Smashed – The top performance of the Sundance 2012 in my opinion – Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Smashed. She is absolutely amazing in this, one of her greatest performances ever, I truly mean it. This film balances comedy/drama perfectly and addresses alcoholism in an intelligent, brave, even entertaining, way. I love this film for everything it stands for, on top of the performances and the filmmaking, and I’m excited for it to get released. Everyone involved should be very proud of what they’ve made.
Ethan’s Top 5 Favorite Films:
#5 – Smashed – Many films chronicle the ugliness of alcoholism and the triumph of sobriety, but rarely does one focus on the consequences of both in such a practical way. It’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s performance, a great supporting cast and a real and honest script from a former alcoholic that made this one of my favorite films of the festival.