Review of Thanks for Sharing (2013) by Brook Y — 22 Sep 2013

Saw "Thanks For Sharing" last night and I would give it 3 3/4 to 4 stars. I enjoyed this dramedy. It's starts out funny and slowly gets serious while balancing the art of levity at just the right moments.

There is a decent size ensemble cast featuring three main characters and the people in their lives who live with these addicts. The main addiction in question is sex addiction, but many of the characters including the supporting staff live in a world and suffer from other addictions such as drugs and alcohol.

Mark Ruffalo does a great job as the lead. He is charming and believable and also flawed. His muse is Played by the always beautiful and endearing Gwyneth Paltrow. They have great chemistry and you'll be rooting for the the whole time.

Tim Robbins does well as the seemingly grounded expert from the group having succeeded for 15 years without a current set back, but he is not perfect. He has a rough relationship with his son who is a former drug addict and thief (who stole to get his fix). He shows both strength and humility to his character. Even though he doesn't fall off the wagon, his saintly character is plenty flawed.

The final main character is played by a sort of Horatio Sans type actor. He is mostly used as a comic foil but he turns out to have the one of the biggest hearts in the movie. His co-pilot in his scenes is played by the singer, Pink, who does an amazing job acting and playing a sex addict herself. Their scenes together are both tender and believable without falling into the stereotypical friends who have sex.

A good point made is this movie is that no one is perfect. The movie deals with sex addiction in a believable manner while keeping the subject light enough to not be depressing or too intense.

Great acting, funny, a couple of times there were moments where tears almost start to develop....

Good times.