Customer Reviews

When a Man Loves a Woman

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I first saw the title of this movie, I was thinking that this was going to be a romantic comedy. But, to my surprise, it was so much more.

Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia are good as Alice and Michael Green. I liked the fact that the movie dealt with Alice's alcoholism. She realizes that she has a major problem with alcohol. Eventually, she goes into rehabilitation.

I'm glad that they didn't stop the movie with her coming out of rehab and life will be all wonderful and fuzzy. What happens is that with Alice sober, Michael doesn't have anyone to rescue anymore. It is good to watch how their relationship changes with Alice's new found sobriety. Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia do a great job in showing how alcoholism can effectively mess up a relationship and family.

It's been a while since I have seen this movie, but there are some wonderful supporting performances to mention. Tina Majorino as the oldest daughter, Jess, is astonishing. She shows a lot of emotion for the daughter of an alcoholic. I think that she could have easily been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Also, Lauren Tom as Amy, the Green's nanny/housekeeper, is incredible. Her character does not really like Michael Green very much. The scene where Michael begs her to come back and help the family is great. Amy definitely does not make it easy for him.

This movie is definitely not light-hearted fair. In fact, I would really not recommend this for children. But, for adults, I recommend this movie because it tackles alcoholism head on, especially with some not so pleasant views of Alice's alcoholism.

Coming from an alcoholic family I was able to relate to the children in the movie. I think Meg Ryan played the part perfectly and Andy Garcia did a wonderful job as well. It was a different look at a serious disease, the fact that the mother was an alcoholic.

Meg Ryan (Alice Green) plays a wife and mother of two, who has an out of control drinking problem, that takes her almost dying in the shower to make her realize that she has a problem. Andy Garcia (Michael Green) plays her husband who knows that she has a problem, but just is not ready to face the fact that she needs help or she is going to hurt herself or one of the children.

When Alice finally does get the help she needs, Michael doesn't cope well with the fact that she now has other people to turn to when things get rough. Michael does try to go to a support meeting for family memebers, but just sees it as a bunch of people sitting around feeling sorry for each other. He thinks that things will just 'go back to normal' now that she has gotten help and just isn't that simple.

Although the effects that her drinking had on the kids was not addressed, I felt that it touched most of the bases that a family goes through after recovery.

You will need a box of tissues by your side for this tear jerker.

This is actually a very good movie, in spite of the fact that I personally hate Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia. I was about to stop watching after seeing the first 15 minutes, but after sticking with it I thought the movie was excellent not just because it addresses issues with alcoholism, but issues about conflicts in family life and barriers to communication, which happen to be quite common in general.

Even if you remove the topic of alcoholism completely, you can see how the movie deals with issues like what happens when the person you are married to is no longer the person you married? What do you do when someone you love is hiding things not just from others but from themselves? What issues come up when a couple starts to see a licensed practitioner? What is it like to enter a support group, especially when you have judgments about the types of people that make up the support group?

I would have given this movie five stars if not for my personal distaste for Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia. But this movie really opened my eyes, and perhaps more importantly, my heart, and I would recommend it to anyone who has experienced a troubled relationship, due to alcohol or not.

I believe that addiction can only be overcome by love. The demons of addiction thrive and perpetuate in a black vacuum of mental and emotional despair; only the steadfast love and support of others can exorcise them.

And indeed it is love that ultimately breaks through the shackles of alcoholism in director Luis Mandoki's gripping film, WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN. Michael and Alice Green (Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan) are a young couple deeply in love--so much so that Michael tends to downplay his wife's growing dependence on alcohol. Only when Alice's addiction plunges her down a desperate, dysfunctional vortex--from rummaging through trash looking for vodka bottles to passing out in the shower--does Michael come to the jarring conclusion that he is on the verge of losing his wife to an insidious disease. Alice is placed in rehab, and Michael's devotion is put to the test: from his discomfort with support groups to Alice's subsequent aloof and detached demeanor. Life after addiction will not be easy, for Alice, Michael, or their two daughters.

But again, love never is easy.

Garcia and Ryan give compelling, realistic performances. I also was moved by the performance of young Tina Majorino, who plays Garcia's stepdaughter Jessica. Over the course of the movie, father and stepdaughter form an emotional bond as they attempt to keep their fragile family together, and the strain on young Jessica shows.

I was shocked to learn comedic satirist Al Franken cowrote the screenply; what a departure from his usual material, but Franken obviously knows his subject matter here. WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN is anything but a "feel good" film, but there is little good to be gleaned from a story about addiction. But this movie succeeds through its powerful depiction of devotion and love--a power that will keep the viewer riveted and engrossed from beginning to end.
--D. Mikels

I am a recovering alcoholic. My husband & I first saw this movie June 12/05 at a detox center in Alaska where our vacation was cut very short due to my nervous system shutting down, due to several years of alcohol abuse. This movie was used in one of our classes in rehabilitation. We were facinated. It told our story. The movie is for the struggling alcoholic & for the loved ones involved. Everyone one is affected by this most crippling disease. This movie is a must "tool" for anyone especially new to sobriety. I even still watch it when I feel a need to. It is very real & most excellent.
Thank You
Bernadette

The movie sucks you in and doesnt let go til the end!! It engrosses you in REAL LIFE, it tells a story that you can feel so close to home it brings tears to your eyes more than once. The first time I saw this movie was at a group meeting for alcoholics and the response was breathtaking it touches your soul and makes you feel the love and the pain and every other emotion possible. The title I must admit doesnt draw you to the movie because you figure *Oh just another romance with no point or purpose* but in reality there are both. This movie is one of my all time favorites and I would recommend it to anyone. Its not just a chick flick for all you guys out there:p Never Judge a book by its cover:)

I thought this was going to be a romantic comedy, but was disappointed to find this a dark and depressing drama. It is a story about how being an alcoholic can affect a family and the journey they have to take to stay together. Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia play a married couple, and Meg is the one with the alcohol addiction. The saying about hitting rock bottom would definitely apply to this film. The audience sees Meg slowly spiral completely out of control, and how low she has to go until she finally is ready to reach out for help. Her family has to come to terms with the fact that she will not be the same person she was as a drunk. When Meg emerges from rehab, everyone is on edge with her - not only her family, but friends and acquaintances too. Everyone has adjustments to make.

this movie hit me hard. if you know anyone that is an alcoholic, it will probably touch the same spot inside you that it touched in me. meg ryan's character was completely believable & andy garcia (one of my favorites) never failed to amaze me as her loyal husband that stays with her, even when she has hit rock bottom. i definitely recommend this movie, it has a great ending. i cried a river.

Get out the kleenex!

Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan gave wonderful performances as Alice and Michael Green. I thought this movie showed a very realistic look at alcoholism and the effects on a family. Andy, as Michael, the ever caring, loving, devoted husband looking after his girls, and not seeing a problem exists. Meg, as Alice, insecure and able to hide her drinking from everyone but her children, Jess and Casey. When Alice is forced to face her demons, everyone has to come to grips with their own insecurities and the truth.

"When a Man Loves a Woman", it's amazing what the outcome can be!

meg ryan and andy garcia deserve oscar's for their terrific performance on the silver screen. basically, andy is married to meg with kids. the plot evolves around andy's belittling of his wife because she is an alcoholic. was andy emotionally abusive? i didn't think so, at least not intentionally, but it's debatable i guess. in the end, they learn that loves conquers all and all is forgiven, thus making it a great love story.