Smashed, like its protagonist, has two sides. One is a very realistic depiction of how hard it for someone to achieve sobriety, the other is a generic showcase of drunken pratfalls. It feels like the writers were unsure the relationship between Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Charlie (Aaron Paul) was strong and complex enough to carry the story without some funny but sad exposition scenes. As a result, the institutions Kate has to unravel her drinking from feel underdeveloped and the emotional climax of the story lacks the punch that a crisper script would accomplish. In short, Smashed gets a little sloppy.
Kate (Winstead) has lots of fun nights with her husband Charlie (Paul). She would be considered a functioning drunk: she parties at night and drinks during the day. After one incident where she gets sick teaching her 2nd graders and ends up sleeping outside, she admits to herself with the help of the vice principal (Nick Offerman) that she needs to clean herself up. She does all the right things, including obtaining a good sponsor (Octavia Spencer) and staying away from drinking situations. However, the past dependency of alcohol in her daily life finds other ways to manifest itself and she must decide whether to acknowledge and move on or keep herself in denial.
Smashed clearly understands the residual effects of alcoholism, one of the movie’s strong points. Charlie really tries to be a good husband to Kate; he is very supportive and understanding of her situation and even cuts back his drinking for her. However, sex is weirder, and dinner conversations lack the zeitgeist of the past. Lies told at work while drinking still exist post-drinking, and in the fragile state Kate is in she can only handle small changes not several big life changes. Kate figures the obvious choices like no longer going to bars will change who she is, but the depths of her alcoholism require much bigger changes, which end up being thrust upon Kate instead of Kate acting herself.
The more personal nature of the story makes Smashed over-the-top scenes at the beginning needless filler. There is a scene involving crack, and a scene involving stealing and peeing in public. However, that opening scene in the school clearly showed that Kate needed some sort of change, and the way she is defined early on is functional, not crazy as a drunk. What makes Smashed disappointing is that the subtle, intimate scenes do a great job showing the struggle that scenes that drive home the point with a direct statement are just not necessary since the story flows to its logical conclusion. In fact, these “drive-home-the-point” scenes discredit the job the writers and the actors do setting up a believable situation and relationship.
Smashed would not have been as good as it is without Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I’ve seen her be very beautiful before, and she really strips away all her makeup to portray Kate as a world-weary struggling alcoholic. This nuanced, very honest portrayal is hopefully remembered come Oscar time. Aaron Paul has played a drunk (Van Wilder) and a meth dealer (Breaking Bad), so he has been preparing for this role for a while, and he does a good job not vilifying Charlie, and in fact, turning him into a tragic figure. Nick Offerman, Megan Mulally, and Octavia Spencer provide nice solid character work around the two leads, but don’t confuse yourself: this is Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s movie.
Alcohol can be as dangerous as any other drug out there, and maybe even more so because it is legal. Smashed could be a good cautionary tale to show someone. Hopefully this makes a star out of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who has been flirting with the mainstream for years now. I’ll put down my drink for that.