Clean And Sober was one of those little films that critics loved, but didn't appeal to the mass audience and thus is unfairly forgotten. I have always admired Michael Keaton's work. He is one of those actors who can do both comedy and drama and do it very well. 1988 was an incredible year for Keaton, he was even featured on the cover of Newsweek. He was in two films that year where he played parts that were as different from each other as night and day and he was awesome in both. In Beetlejuice he played a comedy part. He was hilarious as a lecherous scuzzball from hell. He was just too funny to be scary. That was as original a comedy as you would ever see and it was due largely to Keaton's wonderful performance. In Clean And Sober he plays a dramatic role just as awesomely. This film is dark and gritty and at times depressing. You feel drawn into the darkened world of drug addiction where there is no hope and no light at the end of the tunnel. Watching Darryl Pointer's tortured life reminded me of a poem I heard that went Now hollow fires burn out to black and the lights are dimming low Square your shoulders lift your pack leave your friends and go Fear not my friends, naughts to dread look not left or right In all the endless hell you walk there is nothing but the night Darryl is a real "anti-hero" in so many ways. He is self centered, very abrasive and he just checks himself into the rehab center to get the heat off himself because after a night of boozing and coking there is a dead girl in his bed. At first glance, Darryl is a real sob (even Keaton said that he was at first tempted to turn this role down because "this guy is such a pig"). BUT, but you still care about this guy because Michael Keaton's amazing acting makes Darryl seem so real to you. You say to yourself "God help him, let him see the light before its too late". Morgan Freeman was relatively unknown at the time, but he carries the load as Darryl's almost saintly counselor. There is one scene that takes place when they are both at a urinal (how touching!) where he tells Keaton to take it one step and one second at a time. SPOILER ALERT!SPOILER ALERT! Kathy Baker gives a fine performance as well as another addict that Darryl ends up really connecting to. You feel so sorry for this woman and sense the pain that she has inside as well. I think her biggest problem was just plain self hatred. How can other people love you if you don't love yourself? The most painful lesson that Darryl learns is that you can't control other people's lives and change their destinies. It's wonderful when you see this man who was so self centered start caring about other people and realize the truth about his own addictions. Critics raved about Keaton's performance one said "Give Michael Keaton the Oscar for Clean and Sober" Maybe its because this film was so dark and gritty and almost "film noir" like that it wasn't given the credit that it so justly deserves.
Review of Clean and Sober
