When a man loves a woman staring Meg Ryan
 

Watched it last night with my RAW. Hit way too close to home for comfort. A lot of it was really hard to watch because of all the bad memories it brought back. I think it was good that we watched it though because it is making us both think and deal with some difficult issues. Just curious what others thought of the movie?

great reality movie

I had a similar experience to you, though I agree it was a great movie.

It helped me to see my codependancy a little better.

I never saw that one, but thought it interesting in a bizarre, train-wreck kind of way that one of my xABF's favorite movies was 'My Favorite Year'. Creepy.

- Sylvie

I've never heard of this. It looks powerful. Once I tried to get my ex to watch Leaving Las Vegas and she quickly shut it off when I told her the premise. That was before I knew..

I saw it years ago, before AW developed her drinking problem. I'd like to see it again, now that I can relate to it more.

I often wonder what AW is thinking when the subject of alcoholism comes up on a show or movie we're watching. Does it make her uncomfortable? It may not even register, since she still denies having any kind of drinking problem. I haven't bothered to bring it up in a long time, though Daughter still does. Daughter is also in denial about AW being an alcoholic, though she disapproves of the drinking.

Another Alcoholism-themed movie that is worth checking out is Come Fill the Cup, with James Cagney.

ooooooh that movie was like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. like waking up in a cold sweat on a hot and humid night.

never made it all the way through When A Man Loves A Woman.

I watched it years ago in college when I didn't have any A's in my life (that I knew of anyway) and I remember just being so disturbed by it and feeling so horrible for the husband character. I guess it was foreshadowing of the life I was about to get into.

It would be interesting to watch it now, though honestly, I'm not sure I'm emotionally ready to do that. A little too close to home I think for now.

As an aside, one of my AH's favorite movies is "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". I think that is pretty telling right there. That movie IS his FOO.

XABF's favorite series was Jesse Stone. He identified with the main character.
Of course he did, this guy was divorced (with the ex-wife still calling him), with an alcohol problem (except he pours it into a glass with ice; XABF drinks it straight from the bottle), brilliant at his job (small town cop here), but the management (government, in this case) was against him and constantly trying to fire him.
Half of it is XABF exactly, and the other half feeds into his own opinions of himself and his sense of paranoia.

I watched that movie 10 years ago. I cringe even thinkinging about the little bits I remember. What a great movie.

Has anyone seen 16 years of Alcohol? That was all too good in the same kinda way. I wTched that one about 6 months ago. It's a Scottish film. Netflix instant...

Haven't seen that movie in many years, way before involvement with RABF. I remember it was very powerful, and difficult to imagine how that could happen. I should watch it again. I know I would see it through very different eyes.

I think Meg is foxy and the movie suspect.

Based on what I have read here I have no desire to see it. I lived within 5 miles of Three Mile Island when it happened and have never seen the China Syndrome. Really don't need movies to bring up those memories (AW or almost a meltdown) I can do just fine on my own.

Incredibly enough my wife loved to watch intervention especially when she was taking sleeping pills. I'll probably never watch that show again either.

Your friend,

I haven't gotten past the first 20 minutes since being w/ my RAH. Makes me very nervous...usually makes me cry and upset. I tried to watch it just a couple weeks ago..it was on OWN network...couldn't do it. DVR'd it..tried again.NOPE. Deleted it.

I also don't watch intervention or any other movie that depicts obvious alcoholic behavior or drug usage.... freaks me out.

Vivid movie for us, at least
 

Yup, my life with my spouse pretty much mirrors that of Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan, including how terrible it is for the kids. Never thought my spouse ever really pictured how close to home the family portion of the movie was then and still is now. For years I told the few folks who knew what was going on to watch the movie, that's essentially how it was and unfortunately still is for us. The "recovery" portion of the flick for Meg is a pipe dream I guess.

I find it really hard to watch recovery movies with my husband. It does hit too close to home. I feel ashamed, sad and embarrassed. My recovery never really challenged our relationship though, as it did with the characters in the film. My first year sober was really tough: I was angry at the world.
But...now we have a better relationship than ever. I guess we were lucky and I recovered before ruining our marriage.