Unique roles for Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, usually they act in comedies but this is a solid drama. Together with Charles Bickford, they give three high-acting performances. Especially Lee Remick, she is unrecognizable as a perpetual drunkard. Simple, convincing, credible, realistic, like in real life. But again, watch out, because it's very sad, specially the ending...

Joe Clay (Jack Lemmon) is a stellar public relations man in San Francisco. Much of his time is spent wining and dining clients and Jack is a party guy first class, drinking to excess. He even is ordered to find lady "escorts" for CEOs partying on a yacht. It is there that he accidentally mistakes Kirsten (Lee Remick) for one of the "invited" women. Woe to him, she's the boss' secretary. Nevertheless, he discovers two things. One, Kirsten is part of the window dressing, being very beautiful, and she does very little of the actual work. Secondly, even she can succumb to an attractive man's charms and humor, as she starts dating Joe, and hurriedly gets married to him. But, alas, Joe doesn't want to drink alone, so he introduces cocktails to his teetotaler new wife. Starting with Brandy Alexanders, which has the chocolate Kirsten loves, she suddenly, too, gets in the alcohol "game". Even the birth of their daughter, Debbie, doesn't keep the couple sober. On one of their drunken binges, Joe smashes up his father-in-laws nursery. Joe also loses his job and a few others when his drinking leads to big problems. At last, Joe has had enough and realizes he has to join AA. Kirsten refuses to go. She even goes away to distant hotels for weeks and Joe doesn't know where she is. Eventually, Joe has to make a decision, a heartbreaking one. How can he stay sober if he lets Kirsten be part of his new life? This sad, sad film has the horrors of alcoholism on full display. Especially sad is Remick's role, for she is goaded to drink and then can't stop. Yes, there are moments of humor, romance, beautiful scenery, costumes and Blake Edwards great direction. But, unless you love the stars or are in the mood for a cathartic sobfest, this movie will put you in a sobering state of mind.

Days of Wine and Roses is one of those films where we know what is going to happen to the characters, but we still cannot bear to watch it happen. You want to shout out to them not to take a drink, not to succumb to the pressure. But as they do and inevitably fall back into alcoholism, even as we are angry, we also sympathise. It is a hard film to watch because there are no easy answers and the characters cannot be honest to themselves. Lemmon is of course great, as always. He splutters out his lines as though he is not sure personal relations is really all that he signed up for. There's a brilliantly awkward meet-the-father scene where he is made to actually think of the motives of his line of work for perhaps the first time and he can barely justify it, stuttering and buying time. There's the drunken stupor in which he dances merrily and reveals hidden bottles like a magic act, and then infamously destroys the greenhouse plants later when his stash is gone. If you are sipping a non-alcoholic, of course it seems like overacting. And of course we must be indebted to Lemmon for steadfastly believing in the true ending and preserving its integrity by refusing to reshoot. And the stunning Lee Remick is radiant, and then heartbreaking. Her first drink, a Brandy Alexander, is still with the nerve and complexion of a teenager, who cannot believe how good it actually tastes. And then slowly they both fall into the threesome. After a sober period of two months, they fall off the wagon and as Kirsten pours the drink, she is positively shaking with anticipation, and we know that it has taken over their lives. The alcoholic Kirsten does not look much different from normal apart from a few make-up tricks, but Remick sells it because there is so much pain in her words. Even as she tries to hide it we know she is on edge after only 2 days - the jerks of the head, the stuttering, the teary inability to admit the storm that would stir up if they got back together. "Take care of yourself," Joe tells her as she leaves. The heartbreaking thing is, we know she won't.

Jack Lemmon, an up and coming Public Relations man and a budding alcoholic, meets Lee Remick, who doesn't drink, but likes chocolate. Jack introduces her to Brandy Alexanders and they soon embark on the downward spiral into alcoholism. Several years and several jobs later, Lee nearly burns down their apartment with their young daughter in it. Jack looses another job. Realizing they have lost control, they move in with Lee's father (Charles Bickford) and work in his greenhouse growing and delivering flowers and trees. Soon Jack gains Charles' trust and sneaks 2 pints of liquor into their room. After making short work of the 2 bottles, Jack nearly destroys the greenhouse drunkenly looking for the third bottle. Waking up in the mental ward with the DT's, Jack meets Jack Klugman, who introduces him to AA. After becoming sober and returning to work, Lemmon tries to woo Remick to join him in sobriety. At the close of the film, we know that Lemmon will remain sober, and can only hope that Remick will eventually join him in sobriety. As a Recovering Alcoholic (sober over 19 years) I can tell you this is a VERY plausible portrayal of the heartbreak that is alcoholism. I try to watch this film at least once a year just so I don't forget what I am. In addition to the wonderful writing and tremendous acting by both Jack and Lee, the theme 'The Days of Wine and Roses' by Henry Mancini weaves and haunts the entire film. Don't miss it!