Smashed

In the opening scene of Smashed, Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up covered in her own piss, the result of a night of epic binge drinking gone too far. She playfully nags her just-as-hungover husband, Charlie (Aaron) before heading to the shower (where he cleans herself while crushing a beer) and attempting to make it to her job on time – a job in which she is paid to teach first graders.

And we’re off and running.

So from frame one, James Ponsoldt’s Smashed hooks us by showing a sad, desperate world of two sad, desperate alcoholics who are so set in their ways, that waking up in a puddle of piss is as common as snoozing the alarm clock three times.

At work that day, Kate’s hangover forces her to throw up in front of her students, which results in her telling a half assed lie that she’s knocked up and simply experiencing morning sickness. She leaves work, gets drunk singing karaoke, gives a stranger a ride, smokes crack, sleeps in an alley – and so it is and so it goes. This is Kate’s life, and Charlie is the ultimate enabler.

Tired of waking up in the street, Kate elects to slow down and get clean the right way. She’s going to go to the meetings, practice the steps, stay out of the bars, go through whatever motions it takes to stay clean. This upsets Charlie to no end, his frustration manifesting itself in a multitude of ways. And there’s Smashed. I’ve left a lot out because solid character studies are best explored at the source. And if this film is nothing else, it is a solid addition drama begging to be seen.

What sets it apart from other tales of alcoholics-in-decay is its humorously truthful tone. Neither Kate nor Charlie are angry drunks, but rather the kind who fall over wrestling while attempting to play croquet in the back yard. They make drinking look as silly as it can be for everyone. Difference is, Kate and Charlie aren’t everyone, they’re a married couple so dependent on a substance, that when one tries to give it up, it completely sends the other into a passive aggressive tailspin.

Aaron Paul has been made famous by playing a consummate fuckup in Breaking Bad. He’s great in that show and he’s great here. I was worried his Smashed character would mirror is meth-addicted Jesse from Breaking Bad in all the worst ways. But it is the completely antithesis; see it to believe it.

Nick Offerman (of Parks and Recreation fame, here playing a vice principal in recovery), Octavia Spencer (an Oscar winner for The Help, playing Kate’s sponsor) and Megan Mullally all contribute worthy supporting work here, but the star is indeed Winstead, who fearlessly asserts herself as a tiny powerhouse. I’ve seen Winstead in a number of things (a death dodger in Final Destination 3, a girl worth fighting for in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, a ditzy cheerleader in Death Proof), but I honestly had no idea she had a role like Kate in her. There’s a scene in this film that represents one of the most gut-wrenching, realistic relapses I’ve seen, one that could and should earn her a Best Actress Oscar nomination this year.

That may be wishful thinking on my part, given that Smashed has had such a clumsy release (it’s in this city one week, then that city another week, etc.) and, quite frankly, wouldn’t be nearly half the movie it is without Winstead. But at any rate, her performance is gold, and the film as a whole does its best to keep up. B+



Cities where Smashed will be released can be found here