If you’re thinking of getting sober, or are dealing with a loved one’s addiction, these inspiring movies about getting sober may help remind you that you’re not alone.
But First
No one is preaching here or making you read this. It’s up to you. But the author of this gallery (hi!) is a 12-years sober person who has found movies incredibly helpful in the process of quitting alcohol and other things that weren’t helping my life.
All of us want to get out of our own heads sometimes, and instead of doing that with booze, I now find that movies help me escape my stresses for a few hours without hangovers, a mysteriously empty wallet or those “I said what?” mornings-after. Especially early in sobriety, I very much appreciated movies about people quitting things that harmed them.
So here are a few inspiring movies about getting sober that I like and you may like, too.
The Resurrection of Jake the Snake (2015)
Because no one trying to get sober wants a fake lecture from Hollywood, let’s start with a story that’s true: The Resurrection of Jake the Snake follows one of the greatest WWF wrestlers of the 1980s, Jake Roberts, after he falls on very hard times, descending into alcoholism and self-doubt.
Luckily, he has a great friend in former wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, who Roberts mentored in the 1990s. DDP returns the favor by inviting Roberts to stay in his Atlanta home, which he calls “the Accountability Crib,” and coaches him back to sobriety and fitness, through a barrage of obstacles.
Flight (2012)
This film has a perfect metaphor for high-functioning alcoholism: Denzel Washington plays a pilot who can pull of miracles in the air, but is losing control on the ground.
When a freak accident — and stunning maneuver — turn his world upside-down, he’s forced to admit he’s powerless over alcohol and drugs.
The film is written by John Gatins, who fought his own successful battle for sobriety.
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
This one stars Anne Hathaway as a recovering addict in a 12-step program who is released from rehab to attend her sister Rachel’s wedding. The film addresses the awkwardness and struggle of rebuilding trust when your addictions have hurt people, and when they doubt your commitment to sobriety. This website answers how long there is fentanyl half life in urine.
But because the story is in the hands of Jonathan Demme, one of the most empathetic of all filmmakers, it’s handled with honesty, catharsis and even joy.
And life imitates art: star Anne Hathaway recently talked about being sober for the last five years.
Traffic (2000)
This movie about the war on drugs ultimately comes to the conclusion that you can’t stop addiction with guns and battering rams and prosecutions: You need to cut off demand, which means treating addicts as human beings, and figuring out how to treat their addictions.
The most dramatic moments come from Don Cheadle, Michael Douglas and Benicio del Toro trying to bust drug cartels, but at its heart are the scenes about Caroline Wakefield (Erika Christensen, pictured), the daughter of Douglas’ crusading anti-drug czar, who becomes addicted to drugs herself. She finds a way out through 12-step meetings and the love of her parents.
“If there is a war on drugs, then many of our family members are the enemy,” Wakefield says. “And I don’t know how you wage war on your own family.”
The film was written by Stephen Gaghan, who drew on his own experiences with addiction and getting sober. It’s based on the also excellent British TV series Traffik.
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
The only movie on this list written by a person who went on to become a United States senator. Though Al Franken was best known for comedy, prior to representing Minnesota in the Senate, he also made a foray into drama to co-write, with Ronald Bass, the story of a man (Andy Garcia) married to a woman (Meg Ryan) who is struggling with alcoholism.
Franken knew what he was talking about: his wife, Franni, has talked about her own recovery from alcoholism, with her husband’s support.
Critic Roger Ebert, himself a recovering alcoholic, gave When a Man Loves a Woman four stars and wrote that it was: “a wise and ambitious film about the way alcoholism affects the fabric of a marriage.”
“So many movies about the disease simplify it into a three-step process: Gradual onset, spectacular bottom, eventual recovery,” he wrote. “It isn’t that simple; most alcoholics never even give themselves a chance to recover. And recovery is a beginning, not an end.”
Smashed (2012)
Smashed stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kate Hannah, an elementary school teacher who realizes her drinking is jeopardizing her job and life. Her husband Charlie (Aaron Paul) is also an admitted alcoholic, but doesn’t share her commitment to getting sober.
Susan Burke wrote Smashed with its director, James Ponsoldt, and drew on her own experiences getting sober.
Clean and Sober (1988)
Michael Keaton’s first dramatic role found him playing a cocaine addict who wakes up in bed next to a fellow user who has died of an overdose. The film follows him through an odyssey of 12-step programs he doesn’t really take seriously, at first.
It takes more tragedy for him to realize sobriety is his only way out of a depressing, pathetic cycle.
Wild (2014)
An adaptation of Cheryl Strayd’s true, gutsy memoir about trying to rebuild her life after the death of her mother, the collapse of her marriage, and an addiction to heroin.
The film details how Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon) hiked 1,100 miles, alone, to prove that she could and find out who she really was. It’s an unsentimental, brutally honest, totally inspirational story about getting sober even when everything seems hopeless.
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
A story of an alcoholic (Jack Lemmon) who lures his wife Kirstein (Lee Remick, above) into the drinking wife.
As everything collapses — endangering the life of their young daughter — he finally kicks booze with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous and a dedicated sponsor. But he struggles to pull his wife out of the chasm he helped open.
This is a brutally sad movie about the trap of co-dependency.
Candy (2006)
Another story of an addicted couple. Abby Cornish plays Candy, a young art student who falls in love with a poet named Dan (Heath Ledger) — and joins him in his heroin addiction.
The film follows them through desperation and tragedy — she quickly turns to sex work to support their ravenous addiction – and questions whether they need to sacrifice their love to save themselves.
Heartbreakingly, Heath Ledger died of from overdosing on prescription medications two years after the film was released.
My Name Is Bill W. (1989)
A TV movie about Bill Wilson and Robert Smith (aka Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob), the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. James Woods won an Emmy for his portrayal of Bill, a World War I veteran whose addiction causes him to lose his fortune in the 1929 stock market collapse.
He finds community and hope in his talks with Dr. Bob (James Garner) and their friendship forms the basis of Alcoholic Anonymous, a group that has helped countless people worldwide through its non-denominational, apolitical, free approach to helping people recover from alcoholism — with an emphasis not just on anonymity, but on attraction rather than promotion.
Even if you aren’t interested in sobriety, this is an inspiring story about how just one or two regular people can overcome a seemingly insurmountable problem.
Walk the Line (2005)
The second Reese Witherspoon film on our list finds Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) finally getting sober through the love of a good woman, June Carter (Witherspoon). It is based on the real Johnny Cash’s many struggles with addiction.
It was parodied in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which is also a great movie. Laughter is one of your best weapons as you get and stay sober.
Resources for Getting Sober
No one here is sponsoring or promoting any particular program or approach — we only want you to do what works for you.
But free programs ones that seem to frequently help include Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
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Good luck!
Main image: Flight. Paramount Pictures.