This sort of topical cautionary fable usually plays better as a television movie-of-the-week, but here the Big Message is downplayed in favor of a frequently engrossing drama, presenting erstwhile funnyman Michael Keaton with a meaty character to cut his dramatic teeth on. Keaton plays a young high financier and substance abuser hiding from the authorities in a drug rehab center. The role allows him the opportunity for some colorful temper tantrums and histrionic withdrawal anxieties, and he responds with a high-strung performance anchored by an excellent cast of veteran co-stars. Half way into the film the screenplay meanders into an uncertain (if thankfully unsentimental) love story, but just before it can end happily ever after a surprise plot twist brings reality back with a jolt, leading to a bittersweet conclusion almost spoiled by an annoying, self-congratulatory epilogue. It may not win any battles in the war against drugs, but the film is a cut above the usual big screen temperance lesson.
Review of Clean and Sober
