Drunks Details

Determinedly theatrical, Gary Lennon's adaptation of his own play Blackout is a studied example of characters that don't go beyond the stereotype. Every attendee at this Manhattan Alcoholics Anonymous meeting has a specific function to perform, even if this precludes any sort of genuine interchange. Faye Dunaway exists to suffer maternally; Calista Flockhart appears waiflike; comic relief is provided by Spalding Gray, while self-recrimination is the onorous duty of Howard Rollins. Every speech is stuffed with sociological insight, each incident is ingeniously revelatory. Operating on a shoestring, Peter Cohn works as hard as his cast, but never drags his material above the schematic.

"...DRUNKS is totally persuasive in its account of recovering alcoholics helping one another in a painful and often desperate struggle for sobriety..."