OTT

Days of Wine and Roses was not a perfect film by any means, but definitely not OTT. As a former partner of someone who was an alcoholic but who is thankfully now in recovery I found it very realistic. Lee Remick's descent was not unbelievable, nor was the lengths Joe went to in the greenhouse. Addicts have no control over their addiction - but they can choose to stop drinking. I think that message was very well conveyed in the film. I thought ancillary characters like Kirstie's dad, offering Joe a beer and thinking it's all about willpower was very realistic too. There's a lot of people out there who are genuinely baffled at the behaviour of alcoholics and feel if they just have the 1, they'll be fine.

I wish they had delved a little further into why Kirsten's background too, but early on in the film when I saw her nibbling on a piece of candy, I thought: cross addiction. Joe might have turned her onto drink but there were elements of addiction already apparent. I don't know how obvious that would be to others who don't know as much about addiction though. Addicts tend to have addictive personalities or cross addictions, one addiction can be no where near as strong as the other but they have something, be it in their genes or mentality - whatever one chooses to believe (personally I think it's both) that does not allow them restraint with a certain substance.
I don't believe AA is the be all and end all of recovery but it's about whatever works for the addict. As you can see from that film, it was either AA or the nut house back in the Sixties. There is more options available today than AA and also programs for the families, friends or partners of addicts. I don't mean to sound preachy, I wouldn't force it on anyone but there's some good help there. As for Jack Klugman's character, again very realistic. My ex has a great AA sponsor and he stood by him through thick and thin. They're not angels - who is? - but I don't think it was an unrealistic portrayal of what they do.
I get what your saying about alcohol vendors, personally I interpreted that as not so much being preachy but a person showing absolute disgust for the pathetic drunk Joe Clay had become. But maybe it was meant the way you interpreted it.
This is just my own opinion, but I don't think it meant to be preachy. If it were made now with the same plot - it may seem really preachy. But I still think it's quite powerful, realistic and a frightening reality of how alcoholism can destroy everything.

"Life is a state of mind"
~ Being There

You really think that the purpose of this film was to help alcoholics? Why?






"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"

You really think that the purpose of this film was to help alcoholics? Why?






"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"