Movie Review - Smashed

Smashed (2012)

Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, and Octavia Spencer

Directed by James Ponsoldt

I didn't dislike Smashed, but as I watched, I couldn't help but think that the potential for so much more was possible with this story.  The writers let down their lead actress, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who was certainly game for expanding the acting chops we'd previously seen on display from her.  Winstead is Kate, a first-grade school teacher who can't make it through the day without alcohol.  Things seemed bad enough to me when she woke up in the morning and couldn't get through a shower without sipping on a beer, but after a night at a bar, she gives a ride to a drunken young woman who shares some cocaine with Kate.  When Kate wakes up the next morning on the city streets next to some homeless folks, she gets the feeling that she may have taken things a step too far.  With the help of a colleague from work, Kate begins going to AA meetings despite the fact that her husband Charlie (Aaron Paul) -- who also happens to imbibe way too much -- frowns upon the idea.

There were moments throughout Smashed that were so close to reaching real emotional levels, but unfortunately director and co-writer James Ponsoldt never allows things to get to that gut-wrenching level that a story like this needs every now and then.  As an example, when Kate attends her first AA meeting, she stands up and gives a speech in which she finally comes to the realization that she might have a problem.  Had the scene gone on for maybe two minutes longer giving Kate a little more to say, it would have been emotionally perfect.  However, as it stands now, Ponsoldt snipped the scene a bit too short therein losing the powerful resonance it could have had.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead does a nice job and she captures the necessary emotions a role like this requires, but the script just does her a bit of a disservice.  Nick Offerman and Octavia Spencer as Kate's AA sponsors provide the nice, gentle voices the struggling Kate needs at this difficult time in her life but they, along with Aaron Paul's Charlie, felt like characters that could have all been developed a little more.

Those who frequent the blog know that I'm not a fan of movies that simply extend their run time for no valid reason, but Smashed (which clocks in at under ninety minutes) is a movie that should've been longer -- and I'm not sure I've ever said that on this blog.  It needed a bit more time to flesh out the characters in order to have a greater emotional impact for the audience.  Smashed isn't a bad movie, but it had the potential to be much better.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+