Some movies are meant to take us away from our lives and reality, to give us an escape, and to help us forget about our problems for a few hours. On the other hand, movies can also be very powerful tools to help us reflect on our own lives and situations.
Alcoholism is a disease that can make us feel alone, isolated, and like nobody else understands. A movie about an alcoholic character can help remind you that you aren’t alone, even if it’s a work of fiction, you know that there was a writer, a director, and even the actors who may all have struggled with various addictions at time sin their lives, and they put that into their art to create a movie that people can relate to.
Watching a movie isn’t going to magically cure you, but sometimes it can help you reflect on your own life and choices and can give you the push you need. Whether it’s watching a main character overcome their struggles, or seeing what happens if you continue on the wrong path, here are some movies about overcoming addiction to alcohol and quitting drinking.
Movies About Alcoholics
My Name is Bill W (1989)
This is an older film starring James Woods, and it’s about one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous as they struggle to beat their addiction and create an organization that would go on to help many people do the same.
Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
This movie stars Giovanni Ribisi, who is forced to face his addiction and struggles with alcohol while he is stranded in the desert when his place crashes. Would you rather try to overcome addiction at home, or in the middle of the desert?
Smashed (2012)
This movie stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul (Who you might recognize from his role as Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad, another character that dealt with addiction). It’s about a married couple who struggle with alcohol.
Everything Must Go (2010)
This 2010 movie stars Will Ferrell as a man who loses his job and wife due to his alcoholism, and he decides to have a yard sale to sell off his belongings while trying to get his life back on track. Sometimes, you have to let things go when you need to move on and move forward.
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
This movie stars Meg Ryan as an alcoholic who struggles to overcome her affliction, along with how it impacts her husband (played by Andy Garcia). She has a supportive husband, which can help a lot in situations like this, but it doesn’t mean things will be easy.
Can Watching a Movie Help You Stop Drinking?
The idea that simply watching a movie can help someone overcome alcoholism is very optimistic, and not realistic at all. Simply watching a movie is not a sure for alcoholism.
With that being said, movies can give us insights into things, and help us think about our lives in different ways, which can be an important step in recovery.
You can think of movies, songs, and other media a small puzzle piece in better understanding yourself, and that can be very helpful.
