There are many reasons that a given movie can be called entertaining: It's dramatic, it's funny, it's cute, it's educational, it's original, it has great acting, it has an interesting story, etc., etc. "Thanks for Sharing" (R, 1:52) has all of the above. It's a movie that explores the very real, but little-understood problem of sex addiction. This is not a movie (or a problem) about people who can't stop "doing it". What this is all about is people who act out their sexuality in ways that are inappropriate and/or compulsive.The story follows three sex addicts who are in various stages of dealing with their problem. Mark Ruffalo is Adam, a man who is five years "sober" (as addicts call it, even if their addiction has nothing to do with alcohol), but has gone so far as not even allowing himself to have any intimate or even romantic relationships with anyone… that is, until he meets Gwyneth Paltrow's Phoebe. Tim Robbins plays Mike, Adam's sponsor and the leader of their recovery group. Josh Gad is both funny and heartbreaking as Neil, a single doctor who is just beginning to grapple with his addiction.Adam and Phoebe are adorable together, but we wonder if their relationship is doomed from the start. Phoebe tells Adam that she used to date an alcoholic and promised herself she would never be with an addict again… but doesn't realize that sexual addiction is "a thing". Adam has had such a problem with sexual addiction (and closed himself off from women for so long), that he may not have the capacity for a healthy romantic relationship. Mike has been a great help to Adam, but he has problems of his own. Mike has very high standards and shows disdain for everyone who doesn't live up to them – including his adult son who has recently come back into his life and claims to have kicked his previous drug habit. Neil is in a race against time to get his addiction under control before he loses everything. He finds an unlikely friend and mutually-supportive relationship in Dede, played marvelously by Alecia Moore, better known as the rock star Pink."Thanks for Sharing" sheds light on a problem also dealt with in 2011's "Shame", but is less voyeuristic and more accessible to a mass audience. This film is educational without being preachy, funny without being disrespectful to the subject matter and entertaining without letting you forget what's at stake for each of these characters. Their problems feel real, the humor feels natural and the acting is just terrific. I thank writer-director Stuart Blumberg for sharing this very compelling film with us and give "Thanks for Sharing" an "A".

*** Average"Thanks for Sharing" does not really warrant your welcome. It' s not a total disaster but Director Stuart Blumberg's movie about a trio of recovered sex addicts was mostly a turn off. Mark Ruffalo leads the cast as Adam, an easygoing New Yorker who falls for Phoebe played by Gwyneth Paltrow. The thing is that Adam has not informed Phoebe about his addiction. When he does, Phoebe says "let's just be friends"; not really, just wanted to include "Phoebe" and "Friends" in the same sentence. Next, there is Mike (Tim Robbins), the senior sex addict, who has been longtime married to his high school sweetheart and trying to fix his relationship with his estranged kleptomaniac son. To round out the sexoholics, there is Neil (Josh Gad) a young chunky doctor who clumsily fights his addiction in a semi-comedic way and befriends a new addict named Dede played by Alecia Moore (or otherwise known as Pink); hey, the pink stuff had to be included in a movie about sex addicts. "Thanks for Sharing" lacks substance and you don't really care if the characters get it up in their relationships with others, pun intended. That is all I have to share for "Thanks for Sharing"; thanks for reading.

I just finished watching this drama on DVD, and I was impressed. The film made me examine my own views on sex, and I think many men will as well. I'm sure a few women will too. Addiction takes many forms, and this is a new one to explore. The cast was uniformly excellent. Leads Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins and Gwyneth Paltrow were great, and the supporting actors were too. Josh Gad was good as the schluby guy, or at least one who appears that way. Alecia "Pink" Moore was also very good in her first film role. I was really dazzled by young Emily Meade in as Becky, and I look forward to seeing more of her. Patrick Fugit made me forget all about that nice boy character in "Almost Famous." Congrats to director Stuart Blumberg and all involved.

'It's like trying to quit crack while the pipe is attached to your body' Stuart Blumberg is a director who takes chances (The Girl Next Door , The Kids Are All Right, Keeping the Faith). Using a screenplay he wrote in conjunction with actor Matt Winston he approaches a subject rarely touched upon (or even known about to the general public) – sex addiction – and with the very capable assistance of a superb cast of actors he brings it off. The film may disturb some, especially those easily offended by the degree of self indulgence that story addresses, but stay with this story to the end and be enlightened and touched by the triumph of the human spirit over seemingly insurmountable odds.The story centers around three sex addicts who must attend 12 step meetings, have a sponsor, and refrain from onanism or frottage or viewing pornography, sharing their shortcomings at eh meetings of fellow addicts. Adam (Mark Ruffalo) is an environmental consultant whose has been 'sober' for five years and has as his sponsor Mike (Tim Robbins), a small business owner married to the supportive Katie (Jowly Richardson) with whom he has a disowned alcoholic son Danny (Patrick Fugit), and who is sponsor to the obese foolhardy voyeuristic frottage obsessed ER Doc Neil (Josh Gad) whose mother Roberta (Carol Kane) has no clue about her son's debilitating condition. The three men – Adam, Mike, and Neil - interact in needy ways and each faces a crisis he must address: Adam finally meets a girl to whom he can possibly relate, breast cancer survivor Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow); Mike must deal with his son Danny's return to the nest; Neil becomes tied to Dede (Pink) who is a sex addict of the first order and desperate to change. It all works in at times confusing ways, but always with a focus on the fragility of the addicted human being – no matter the source of dependency.The film has its light moments, but it is certainly more of a drama than a comedy – except for the fact that 'all of life in the human comedy.' It is good to see a capable group take on a controversial subject and deliver it well.