THANKS FOR SHARING
Review by Ray Allen and Marcus Flewellen
Rated R, 1 hr. 52 min.
CAST: Mark Ruffalo, Josh Gad, Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joely Richardson, Patrick Fugit, Isaiah Whitlock, Jr.
Synopsis: “Thanks for Sharing” stars Mark Ruffalo, Josh Gad and Tim Robbins as three sex addicts who are in the same support group. Ruffalo’s character is a former addict who’s been “sober” for five years, but when he starts a new relationship with a woman (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) his past comes back to haunt him. Josh Gad’s character is a doctor who loses his job after looking up his boss’ skirt. Tim Robbins’ character is a married addict who has to deal with the return of his formerly drug-addicted son.
Ray: 3 out of 5 stars
Marcus: 4 out of 5 stars
Ray: I am going to need everyone to taker a refresher course their DreamWorks movies. Remember that movie Shrek? And that part about layers? Yep, that one. This movie has layers, lots of them. And not in a necessarily good way. I’m confused on how I should react to this movie. Should I be sad, happy or in between? Maybe both? I do not know. I call it the “indie-effect” since most independent films are typically bipolar in the theme department.
Next thing would be the cast. I love the cast, just not the characters. Honestly, I totally understand that this Mark Ruffalo’s movie. This film came out in late 2012, early 2013 so he had to air out the whole “Avengers” crowd. You know, prove he is a relevant multi-talented actor. Yeah, this movie is not doing it for me. I really fell in love with Josh Gad’s character. He was the true sex addict film and hand down, the best character. Aside from his on-screen counterpart played Pink, of course. Then again, she just plays herself, really. Gad is like pre-Oscar nomination Jonah Hill. With Book Of Mormon, “Love and Other Drugs”, “Frozen”, and the up and coming “Wedding Ringer” film on his belt, Gad has proved that he just really good at playing the relatable and comedic character. Why he has not gotten more of his own work? I do not know. All the actors do not really stand out to me. Even the big ones like Paltrow and Ruffalo. They could honestly have been played by anyone.
Believe it or not, I am actually neutral about this film. I did not love, did not hate it. I can not even say that I did not like it. It was okay, or as people would say, “ehhh.” Netflix has been preaching this movie to me for the longest. After constant prodding I put it in my queue, also known as movie purgatory. Once I watched it, all I could say was “I probably could have left that in my queue.”
Marcus: We must have seen two different movies Ray, because I thought I really enjoyed this movie, and not just because of Josh Gad. I don’t want to oversell “Thanks for Sharing” — it’s not quite as funny or poignant as it thinks it is, and the final third of the movie is a bit anticlimatic and unsatisfying — but for most of its running time, “Sharing” is a well-acted and well-written movie. I don’t know if you’ve noticed Ray, but there aren’t too many well-written and well-acted movies being made nowadays.
I liked every performance in the movie; I think each actor — Mark Ruffalo included, who for some reason you singled out in your review — did their best to make the film’s decent script better. Josh Gad delivers the movie’s strongest performance mainly because his character is the most dynamic and well-rounded (and given the best lines). Whereas Ruffalo, Robbins and Paltrow all have mostly dramatic roles, Gad’s character has both comedic and dramatic scenes, and Gad is a strong enough actor to every facet of his character seem palpable and real.
The directing is competent; it never gets too showy or in the way of what the actors are doing on screen. All the problems in the movie comes from its screenplay. The script, written by director Stuart Blumberg and Matt Winston, never quite finds the right tone or manages to make the most of its premise. The movie is very good, but with a cast this strong, it should have been better.
Marcus Flewellen and Ray Allen review films and cultural trends for Capstone New Now. Their views do not necessarily reflect the views of WVUA-FM.
