Addiction
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Courtney Madison, J.J. Michaels, Keanna Bradley, Mark Davis, Wendy Knight Director: Quasarman Brand: Warner Brothers Cinematographer: Quasarman DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 80 minutes DVD Release Date: 2007-03-20 Audience Rating: X (Mature Audiences Only) Studio: Hbo Home Video |
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Movie Reviews of Addiction
Movie Review: Disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
I had high hopes for this. After spending $24.95 to buy it, and watching the first disc, I don't even feel inspired to watch the other discs. I am an alcoholic myself, and have been sober (thanks to AA) for 11 plus years. I work in the medical field, and am exposed to addicts of every stripe on a daily basis. I found the ballyhoo surrounding the release of this confusing. Perhaps it just shows the hunger of the American people to learn SOMETHING, ANYTHING about the subject of addiction. It IS a complex subject, and I didn't find any answers here.
I'm not sure exactly what the purpose of the show was. If it was strictly to educate, I found it to be an extremely non-cohesive hodgepodge of information that DID'T include some of the most important ideas about addiction. It was like a puzzle that all lay strewn about on the table so that you couldn't figure out what picture it was supposed to be - and with some of the pieces missing, to boot! If it was to inspire addicts or their families to get treatment for their addiction, I didn't feel in the least bit inspired. I did not leave the show with an uplifting feeling, or even a scared-and-need-to-do-something-about-it feeling. I left the show vaguely confused, not much liking or caring about either the addict subjects or any of the researchers. There were exceptions, of course. I enjoyed the Night in the ED segment, and I found the Steamfitters to be very "real" and human. Addiction IS a terrible disease, and it deserves better treatment than this.
Probably the main thing that I did NOT like was that the whole show seemed slanted towards "magic bullet" thinking, which does a disservice to the addict. That is, over and over are mentioned "exciting new medicines" and "getting the right medicines and the right treatment to help the addict", which I find dangerous and misleading. That is, it leads one to feel that the solution to addiction is just getting hold of one of the new "miracle" drugs touted. Perhaps the show was funded by the pharmaceutical industry. "Miracle drugs" which will solve an addicts problem nearly effortlessly and painlessly have continually popped up over the years (antabuse and SSRI antidepressants come to mind), and none have a very impressive track record. In fairness to the show, they do mention some of this, but it seems buried in the more frequently talked about glamour of the next "miracle drug".
I was particularly amazed that amongst all of the brain scans, scientific speculation, and such, that there was NO mention whatsoever of any 12 step program, or any proven treatment center such as Hazeldon or the Betty Ford clinic. Because the reality is, while these scientists are busy engineering the next ever more detailed brain scan machine, there are real humans out there in the world who are SUCCESSFULLY HELPING THEIR FELLOW HUMANS TO GET CLEAN AND SOBER. What a concept! And without miracle drugs even!
Getting clean and sober is not easy, and it does a disservice to addicts everywhere to a) give voice to the magical idea that some miracle cure is going to solve everything, and b) not to mention real life programs available now (often free) that have proven track records, and offer REAL hope.
If you like science, be aware that Alcoholics Anonymous has been shown SCIENTIFICALLY in study after study to have THE SINGLE BEST TRACK RECORD AT KEEPING ALCOHOLICS SOBER. Is it for everyone? No, but if you want to get (and more importantly STAY) sober, the odds are better with AA as a follow-up (after initial treatment) than with anything else that you can name. "It works if you work it" as they say in AA. I have no direct experience with other 12 step programs, and so can't comment, but I know that they operate very similarly. WHY on a show about addiction would they not mention any 12 step program?
I sat with my jaw hanging down as I watched the entire show, and AA was only mentioned twice: once by a woman early in the show who had been sober for 17 years or something "through AA", (that in itself is an amazing accomplishment, and should say all you need to know about AA), and later in the show on the Steamfitters who formed their own support group basically because they felt that going to AA would be somehow 'wimpy' for manly men like them. I don't where they got that impression, because I've never heard of AA being called 'wimpy' (or whatever term they used). AA's full of bikers, construction workers, etc., right alongside the doctors and lawyers. That's the beauty of it: it recognizes that addiction knows no boundaries, and shows what we addicts have IN COMMON. The irony of the steamfitters is that the little group they formed is ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE AN AA GROUP AND MEETING! I was laughing - there was almost no difference. So if you want to know what an AA meeting is like, watch the steamfitters. The sense of caring about their fellow man who is an addict like them came from the deepest depths of human caring and no-nonsense facing the facts. And the power of "it takes one to know one" that lets them get their fellows to let down their barriers and listen is exactly why AA is so effective. Who wants to listen to a scientist? If you're an addict or an alcoholic, you want to listen to another addict or alcoholic. They've walked a mile in your shoes.
So to me the show was a moderately boring stream of blah, blah, blah with little real inspirational meat or insight. If you want some real scientific insight into how this "brain disease" works (at least the alcoholic version), try the book "Beyond the Influence", available from Amazon. Good meat there. If you want to see some good talk from people who have (to me) better insight into the whole addiction thing, search online for the Larry King Live addiction show which featured Jamie Lee Curtis and Betty Ford's daughter from the Betty Ford clinic. Transcripts are available online. It was an incredible show. Coincidentally, one of the "researchers" who appears on the HBO special was also on the Larry King show, and it was slightly embarrassing to watch his miracle drug theoretical approach to the subject next to those who are actually down in the trenches with addicts on a human level. You will see what I'm talking about.