Thanks for Sharing

Director: Stuart Blumberg Stuart Blumberg

Overview

Directed and co-written by Stuart Blumberg, Thanks for Sharing follows the lives of three friends who meet while attending 12-step meetings to help treat sex addition. Tim Robbins is Mike, a leader in the sex-addiction community whose twentysomething son has turned up at home after months away and is struggling with substance issues. Mike's sponsee is Adam (Mark Ruffalo, a guy who has gone six years in the program without falling off the wagon. He starts a relationship with Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow), and finds it difficult after going so long without sex to have it be part of this new relationship. They also befriend an obnoxious young doctor (Josh Gad) whose addiction is ruining his medical career. Thanks for Sharing screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/07/2014
UPC:	0031398182023
Original Release:	2012
Rating:	R
Source:	Lions Gate
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Time:	1:53:00
Sales rank:	48,360

Special Features

Deleted/extended scenes "One step at a time: making Thanks for Sharing" featurette Gag reel Commentary with writer/director Stuart Blumberg and writer Matt Winston

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mark Ruffalo	Adam
Tim Robbins	Mike
Gwyneth Paltrow	Phoebe
Josh Gad	Neil
Joely Richardson	Katie
Patrick Fugit	Danny
Carol Kane	Roberta
Alecia Moore	Dede

Technical Credits

Stuart Blumberg

Matt Winston

Stuart Blumberg	Director,Screenwriter
Miranda de Pencier	Producer
Avy Kaufman	Casting
David Koplan	Producer
Chris Lennertz	Score Composer
Anne McCabe	Editor
Beth Mickle	Production Designer
William Migliore	Producer
Edward Norton	Executive Producer
Yaron Orbach	Cinematographer
Peggy Schnitzer	Costumes/Costume Designer
Robin Urdang	Musical Direction/Supervision
Leslie Urdang	Producer
Dean Vanech	Producer
Matt Winston	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Coming off an Oscar nomination for co-writing The Kids Are All Right, Stuart Blumberg makes his directorial debut with Thanks for Sharing, a blend of comedy and drama that serves up some clear-eyed observations on the nature of addiction and reteams him with Kids co-star Mark Ruffalo. The movie focuses on the lives of three men in a 12-step recovery group, but the twist is that their addiction is sex. Adam (Ruffalo) has finally gotten his life back on track after being in the program for a few years, although his strict personal policy of abstinence is under serious threat when he becomes attracted to the seemingly perfect Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow). His longtime sponsor Mike (Tim Robbins) is the wise master of the group, full of bromides that explain the philosophy he follows, but his inability to connect with his son and wife force him to confront himself in ways he has so far avoided. Portly doctor Neil (Josh Gad) is new to the group and quickly asks Adam to be his sponsor, which turns out to be a difficult task as Neil attempts to negotiate his feelings toward a female member of the group named Dede (Alecia Moore, better known to the world as the pop star P!nk). One of the reasons why The Kids Are All Right was a popular and critical hit was that it captured flawed, three-dimensional people in an admittedly unusual series of emotional entanglements. The same holds true here as Blumberg -- working with co-screenwriter Matt Winston -- makes the three lead characters occasionally difficult to like. The movie doesn't let you feel sorry for them for having this addiction, and it judiciously finds the humor in this exceedingly sensitive material. Gad, who here modulates his full-throttled comedic attack to welcome effect, scores laughs in the early scenes with the extremes to which his character will go in order to fulfill his desires. But he also has a beautiful moment early on where, disgusted with his own lack of self-control, he throws a donut into the garbage, then minutes later picks it out and eats it. Sure, that's a gross-out laugh, but it's also a powerful reveal about his character. Meanwhile, Robbins gives Mike an almost exhausting energy: He's so intent on doing good and helping others because he doesn't want to look at himself anymore -- a situation that leads to a major confrontation with his family. While both men turn in first-rate performances, this movie belongs to Mark Ruffalo. An actor incapable of having a moment that seems contrived, he gives Adam a dignity and tentativeness that's instantly endearing -- the character tries to do the right thing, and in his struggle to be honest and sexual with Phoebe, we get a full understanding of how afraid he is of his addiction. That makes it all the more powerful when, later in the film, he's tempted to relapse. Blumberg proves himself to be an adept writer, and while he's not trying to break new ground as a filmmaker, he does have a knack for handling his performers -- this is the kind of movie that's so driven by the actors that a lack of flashy visuals is just fine. He may not bring any new insights to the long history of films about addiction, but he has created three memorable characters whose individual struggles with their demons help illuminate the human tragedy at the heart of a topic that is often easy fodder for sniggering jokes.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert