Reviews

I am a recovering alcoholic, 23 years sober. Over the years, I've developed somewhat of an obsession with films on this subject, always looking for my own story. 'Smashed' is that film. Mary Elizabeth Winstead captures the essence of the functional alcoholic perfectly. Her character, Kate, is two people - the respected, enthusiastic teacher by day and the out of control drunk by night. This can work for a while, but there will always come a day when these two worlds literally collide.

This movie hits that mark perfectly. Kate's recognition that she is an alcoholic is tough to watch, but so realistic. I knew I had a problem, but denied it until that one morning I woke up in my car and had flashes of memories from a crazy, chaotic night before. Like Kate, I went to AA that same day, and while I hated it at first, those people saved my life.

This movie is about redemption and loss. Getting sober isn't easy. Life continues and we are left to deal with the wreckage of our past. Those problems we ignored, suddenly explode in our faces. But we deal with them. 'Smashed' should be required viewing at rehab because it's real.

I grew up in Massachusetts in the 1960s when the Kennedys were king. I was young and impressionable and found the entire family fascinating. While I was a bit too young to understand the implications of some of the events that took place during JFK's administration, I certainly knew their story inside and out.

I can understand why the History Channel dropped 'The Kennedys.' This series took great liberties with history, but what bothered me the most is the exclusion of any mention whatsoever of Teddy or the death of Kathleen. Certainly Kathleen's story was another of the family tragedies and Teddy took JFK's place in the Senate and would have been with the family on inauguration day. To me, the exclusion of Teddy pretty much negates the entire series.

I will say I was impressed with Greg Kinnear's portrayal of JFK and while Katie Holmes was a bit insipid at times, her resemblance to Jackie was uncanny. But Barry Pepper as Bobby? That didn't work for me at all. I could deal with his not really looking like Bobby, but he couldn't even muster up the correct accent and seemed to flip-flop between Mass. and NY. He was terrible.

I thought the assassination episode was handled very well, capturing that moment fairly realistically. But why didn't they show LBJ's swearing in ceremony on the plane or his speech when they landed in DC? Overall, this series was disappointing and bordering on boring. With all the money they spent, I would have expected much, much more.