'Smashed' shows a realistic recovery, with revelation
'Smashed' has some powerful moments but is mostly superficial.
Aaron Paul (l.) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (r.) star in 'Smashed.'
Oana Marian/Sony Pictures Classics/AP
October 12, 2012
Co-writer/director James Ponsoldt’s “Smashed” is a kind of lesser, modern-day “Days of Wine and Roses.”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a functioning alcoholic first-grade teacher whose downward spiral is checked by a 12-step program that her equally sozzled husband (Aaron Paul) disdains.
The movie has some powerful moments, but it’s mostly superficial.
Grade: B (Rated R for alcohol abuse, language, some sexual content, and brief drug use.)