Day 112: Thanks for Sharing (June, 29)

Sorry, but this poster is so not the movie.

There's a dialogue during Thanks for Sharing in which a character confronts another for not being forthcoming with his recovering addiction. She defends that she was opened about her breast cancer from the first moment, why couldn't he do the same? His answer: a disease gets sympathy; addiction receives judgment. 

And maybe for that reason I haven't heard about this solid and heartfelt movie before. Sex addiction can lead to very cynical and judgmental replies, I think - we can realize how much through the reactions a movie about the subject usually gets. And it shouldn't, because, according to one of the first lines in this film, it is like a crack addicted overcoming his addiction with the pipe attached to his body. He is not presenting an excuse, though. It is his way to explain the complex aspects on it. And it works beautifully in this caring story about the many faces of addiction through strong and lovely characters - despite our rejection to some of them at first. It is rather sad realizing how prejudiced we can be to others struggles and pain. 

Seeing it on cable, I was curious about why a film with Tim Robbins, Mark Ruffallo, Pink and Gwyneth Paltrow had passed by me unnoticed. And the cast, as the story, is also solid. Josh Gad is unbelievably good - we despise and love him with the same intensity. Through all the cast performances, we get to know some aspects of addiction, some of its patterns. We also can realize how thoughtful their presentation is, but it was smartly able to avoid being just a thesis. The movie carries some strong lessons, but through characters that seems so real, so close to us, we have not other option than caring for them, understand and respecting the difficult struggle they have ahead of them.

We also realize here how many aspects of our lives, despite not being an addiction, heads to its direction so easily, and reflects also our own difficulty to deal with life sometimes (everyday...).

I couldn't find any pic that reflected the movie to me, but as least in here they
are all together
Thanks for Sharing. Directed by Stuart Blumbeg. With: Mark Ruffalo, Tim
Roboins, Josh Gad, Pink. Writers: Stuart Blumberg, Matt Winston. US, 2012,
112 min., Dolby Digital, Color (Cable). 

PS: It was inevitable some comparisons with Shame here. Despite not bursting out your heart and mind like Steve McQueen's movie, this one is pretty intense and leave us with many contradictory feelings and a hopeful sense of being able to overcome our more difficult features. 

PPS: Answering about what he usually chooses to eat while watching a movie, Ty Burrell said that he would sound rather boring, because his favorite treat during a movie is a cup of tea. I was seeing it before seeing today's movie and while waiting for my tea to brew :)