One of my all time favorites.

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Blistering performances.

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.

Keaton's performance as Daryl Poynter, a hot-shot real estate agent turned alcoholic and drug user is on point. He brings the character to life, in fact it is the great cast of this film that makes it good. it has a fairly simple direction from caron and a decent screenplay from carroll, but ultimately this drama relies on the emotions conveyed by its leads and supporting actors, all of which do very well. its not an amazing film, its not the best drama, but its solid, a good film with a good message. Keaton is better here than his over the top in beetlejuice or even his creepy character in pacific heights. Thumbs up from me. a solid film!IMDb rating: 6.6---my rating: 8/10

Michael Keaton gave one of the best performances of his career in "Clean and Sober." It is amazing that he was not given anything close to an Oscar nomination for his role. He definitely deserved more recognition than he got. Nonetheless, he proves here he can do a serious role quite well.Keaton is Daryl Poynter, a yuppie real estate broker who is oblivious to his alcohol and cocaine addiction. He has embezzled $92,000 from the company escrow account and invested it in the stock market. But he lost this gamble, and now must quickly recover the money or face serious embezzlement charges and termination. As if that's not enough, he wakes up one morning to find a dead girl in his bed from an overdose (someone he partied with the night before). The police are on his case about the dead girl, the girl's father has posted fliers around the neighborhood branding Daryl a murderer, and his employers are about to discover his embezzlement. Daryl is in a bind, and needs to hide out for a while to straighten things out. He tries to leave town, but his credit cards are maxed out. He is turned away from staying at a friend's house, so he gets his own idea: a drug rehabilitation clinic promising discretion and confidentiality. Thus, he takes advantage of it.The catch is that Daryl does not think he has a problem, and only wants to hide out in the clinic rather than face the music. His saving grace may be counselor and former addict Craig, played by Morgan Freeman. Craig is a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is type of person, and has seen and heard all of Daryl's lies and tricks. Daryl must play by the rules and face his addiction, or get expelled from the facility. He begins his slow transformation when he meets Charlie Standers, played by Kathy Baker, in rehab. Charlie operates a steel mill crane, and lives with an abusive addict boyfriend named Lenny. When Daryl gets to know her better, he offers her a way out of her situation. He also comes to like her, although she does not feel the same way about him right away. But controlling someone else's problems and destinies is next to impossible (even a bit conceited), as Daryl finds out the hard way and through his AA sponsor Richard, played by M. Emmet Walsh. Will he see the light and admit to his problems before it's too late? Can Charlie find the courage to leave Lenny, or is she headed toward destruction?I highly recommend "Clean and Sober" for anyone who has ever had a substance abuse problem, knows someone who has, or is a family member or friend of an addict. No matter the circumstances, this film is truly a wonderful depiction of the consequences involved with addictions of any kind. The good news is that if one is willing to admit to their problems and get help, with consistent effort there is light at the end of the tunnel. A terrific film with realistic people and challenges!

If you've ever thought that all Michael Keaton does is comedy, see this movie! What a performance he gives us. You watch his despair like you are watching a caged animal who wants so desperately to get out but can't. The entire casting is spot on and they all interact very well. Morgan Freeman is superb; no other word can describe his performance. The interaction between Freeman and Keaton is so believable and, at times, funny. You just know that Freeman is going to win, but that Keaton's going to give him a good run for his money. You may not recognize this Michael Keaton and you may yearn for the Keaton of "Beetlejuice", "Speechless", etc., but hang in there, this movie is worth the viewing and watching how Keaton plays Daryl as if he IS Daryl. Now, that's acting.