I saw this when it first came out. I thought it was a love movie. I took my girlfriend at the time. Didn't like it then. Then I saw it again cause I had to. Then I got the premise of the movie. Then going through life I saw it with open eyes. Sort of lived it. If you know what Im talking about, watch it. Maybe it will give perspective. At the end of the movie it give you hope. There are some great lines in the movie. when the little says " what is an alcoholic?" When Andy goes to meeting for the first time then the second time. Wow did that. The struggles of an alcoholic, didn't know then. Know something now. I think Meg plays this part great. The meeting in the movie really show the inside of AA.

Sorry.., I couldn't get past the first scene. "Would you like to do my laundry?" Hello? Meg Ryan should have destroyed him with an affirmative retort. Instead, she fell for this dope. This is the third Meg Ryan movie where she falls in love with an idiot, the other two being When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail. Honestly.., that scene with her in the bar meeting that pompous "airline pilot" really made me nauseated. What should have been her reply when he asked her to "Go get his laundry"? Any of these would have worked: "Oh, you fly an airliner? What an exalted way to sit on your ass for a living!" "I have absolutely nothing to do for the rest of the day. My schedule is totally empty. I don't have to go back to work after lunch,and I don't even have to eat dinner. I'd be glad to be your delivery whore." "Carrot cake? Did you say carrot cake? What do you say I smash this guy's beer glass against your head?"

I've always appreciated this film for its honest look at how insidious alcoholism is and how it devastates those around the addict. I watched it again on a lazy Saturday afternoon and, despite its flaws, its an excellent film and a great look at how alcoholism is a family disease.Meg Ryan's Alice is an alcoholic in a comfortable though unhealthy marriage with Andy Garcia's Michael, an enabler and rescuer. Alice hits rock bottom and heads off to detox. The family struggles while she is away, but still struggles when Alice gets back and fights to stay clean and sober. This is one of the greatest strengths of the film. Becoming sober is not the hard part. Staying sober is. Learning to live life sober is incredibly challenging.Meg Ryan gives a masterful performance in this. However, on re-viewing, I really appreciated the nuances of Andy Garcia's performance. Michael clearly finds meaning in helping and fixing all the problems around him. However, when Alice is sober and he finds he doesn't need to rescue her anymore, he is lost, angry, disappointed, and hurt. His speech at the Al Anon meeting when he admits that he feels pain seeing his wife doing so well without his help is powerful. The child actresses are great, particularly Tina Majorino. I wish they would have delved a bit more into how mom's alcoholism affected the kids. Also, Michael's speech at the very end is cringeworthy, sugarcoating what is otherwise an honest and very real portrayal of addiction and recovery.

In my 40 years of active involvement with recovery programs for family members either addicted to alcohol, or adversely affected by someone else's drinking, this movie 'tells it like it is' better than the majority of other movies I've seen that dealt with similar issues - "I'll Cry Tomorrow'(Susan Hayward),'Days of Wine and Roses'(Lee Remick/Jack Lemmon), 'Bill's Story' (James Gardner) and the Hallmark production of "Love is Never Enough" (Lois Wilson story) left a lot out of the real impact of physical, emotional, psychological and social abuse or damage suffered by alcoholic relationships. This movie depicted a superb example of the pain, confusion, guilt, denial and resistance to change by both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic . . . and the damaging impact to the children and other close associates. The acting by the cast, and especially the children, was phenomenal. The mention and portrayal of an Al-Anon Family Group meeting for the family being affected by either the actively drinking or the new sobriety of an alcoholic was well revealed for the viewer. The final scene was the only part that was 'out of character' for an AA or Al-Anon person at a meeting. All else was 'on target'. 'Thanks for letting me share.' V