Clean and Sober (1988)

• Year: 1988
• Released: 10 Aug 1988
• Country: United States
• Adwords: 1 win
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094884/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clean_and_sober
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Drama
• Runtime: 124 min
• Writer: Tod Carroll
• Director: Glenn Gordon Caron
• Cast: Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman
• Keywords: cocaine, drinking, real estate agent,

	6.7/10
	53% – Critics
	62% – Audience

Clean and Sober Storyline

In Philadelphia, brash commercial real estate agent Daryl Poynter, a cocaine addict and alcoholic (although he doesn’t believe he has a problem in either of those two aspects), checks himself into a drug rehab center solely to go into hiding from the possible criminal and legal alternatives, most specifically that he has embezzled $92,000 to play the stock market in turn to pay off drug debts, his stocks which have instead lost money, and who was a one-nighter, Karen Peluso, ended up having a heart attack in his bed the result of a drug overdose, the police and her loved ones who may not care that she was the one who supplied the cocaine that night in laying blame. He expects to do the minimum required to stay in the facility as he carries on with what he considers the important aspects of his life, especially with regard to the the escrow account from which he stole the money, his stocks, and Karen’s health status, all the while trying to get drugs from his regular suppliers. What he doesn’t expect is the tough love of the facility’s counselor Craig, who has almost zero tolerance on contravention of any of the facility’s and his own policies, and making a true connection to some of his fellow patients, most specifically Charlie Standers. Charlie, a steel mill worker, has her own problems beyond her drug addiction, namely being in an abusive ten year relationship with Lenny, a relationship from which she seems unable to break free. With the help of who ends up being his sponsor Richard Dirks, Daryl may get to a point of truly dealing with his life in an up front manner as opposed to the lying and scheming and schmoozing that has been his modus operandi.

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Clean and Sober Movie Reviews

Harsh realism. (minor spoilers)

Clean and Sober is a sobering drama about the tragedies of addiction. Michael Keaton is Daryl Poynter, a fast-talking washed up real estate who finds an acquaintance in his bed, dead from a cocaine overdose, and himself facing real criminal sanctions after money goes missing. As a drug and alcohol addict, though refusing to admit it, he checks himself into a rehab clinic only to avoid his employers who are looking for the missing money and cops who want to interrogate him about the dead girl. For Daryl, rehab is only a safehouse, not a reality. He doesn’t face the fact that he has real problems and needs real help to get back on his feet. Things are whirling too quickly out of control for him to keep up on the outside and his experiences in the clinic are his own, sobering experience.

The clinic is overseen by a former addict, Craig (Morgan Freeman), who is Daryl’s counselor who can only help Daryl when Daryl helps himself. Craig tires playing games with Daryl, who has no interest in cleaning up, but only hiding out, and even faces getting kicked out.

Daryl finally wakes up largely due to interactions with fellow residents in the clinic, each having their own horror story about how their addictions tore apart their lives in one way or another, putting them in debt, neglecting their families, neglecting their health and so forth. Daryl slowly starts to witness the reality and stops considering everything to be a big joke. These are real people with real problems, and he’s one of them. He even goes so far to try to help someone else recover from the pitfalls of their addictions, befriending Charlie Standers (Kathy Baker), who still lives with an abusive, junkie boyfriend. Unfortunately, for her, she is beyond saving, and her helplessness leads to her own destruction.

After watching Clean and Sober, you can see similarities between the stories as well as the characters among this film, the Sandra Bullock comedy, 28 Days, and the Angelina Jolie drama, Girl Interrupted. It is a powerful, though sad, drama and one well performed by all involved. And, it is, as a previous viewer wrote, “an honest look at real people.”

dark and sobering

Daryl Poynter (Michael Keaton) is a high-powered real estate salesman. He gets caught embezzling money losing much of it in the stock market. He wakes up next to an OD woman after doing cocaine with her. He tries to run away and ends up signing into an anonymous drug rehab program. He clashes with counselor Craig (Morgan Freeman) who has seen it all before. Richard Dirks (M. Emmet Walsh) becomes his sponsor. He starts flirting with Charlie Standers (Kathy Baker) who is addicted with abusive boyfriend Lenny.

Keaton goes darker pre-Batman. It’s not an appealing character. He’s ugly and destructive. It’s an addiction and rehab movie. It is full of darkness. It does go outside of the standard rehab story with Charlie. It’s not a fun watch but Keaton gets to stretch away from his comedic roles.

Has Appeal and Keaton Performs Well

One morning Daryl Poynter (Michael Keaton) woke up next to a nude motionless body. She wasn’t dead, but she was on the brink. The police told him to stay put and that’s when he decided to join rehab. He joined, not for his own improvement, but to hide out from the police. “Clean and Sober” is about Daryl’s journey towards sobriety when that was the furthest thing from his mind.

The movie goes all the way into what it takes to sober up. It’s more than just a montage of detoxing, meetings, and tears. It’s about the work the addict has to do and the work those willing to help him/her have to do.

While at the hospital Daryl met Charlene “Charlie” Standers (Kathy Baker). Though Charlie was involved with someone Daryl made it his mission to pull her away from her man. Her boyfriend was no good for her, that’s for certain, but the impression is that Daryl’s motives weren’t all that altruistic. Though he talked about how imperative it was for her to escape that relationship, he wanted her to escape and run to him. If he was sincere and truly cared about her then he wouldn’t be concerned about whether or not she ran into his arms, but that she just ran away.

The fact is he was replacing his cocaine addiction with an addiction to Charlie. Some ex-addicts pick up smoking, some eating, some something else entirely–Daryl picked up Charlie. Charlie fell off the wagon and was killed in a car crash. I’m not saying that Daryl caused that, but surely the tension of being pulled in two different directions by two men didn’t help her any.

In my book Daryl was selfish as an addict and selfish while he was sober. I also think that Charlie’s death made him get more serious about sobriety. I think this movie has appeal, but I think its appeal is greater to those who have struggled with addiction or know someone who has.