When a Man Loves a Woman

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When a Man Loves a Woman ★★½ To Have and to Hold; Significant Other 1994 (R

Time to get suspicious when song titles become film titles. Alice Green (Ryan) is the mother in a perfect little family, with a loving husband (Garcia), two little girls, and a satisfying career. She's also a closet alcoholic. Less about her alcoholism than the effect on her family and her hubby in particular, shown as a ‘90s sort of guy who allows Alice to keep her secret. Ryan's detox treatments and struggle back to sobriety are fertile ground for psycho-babble and 12-step cliches, but solid performances save this picture from drying out. 126m/C VHS, DVD . Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia, Lauren Tom, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Ellen Burstyn, Eugene Roche, LaTanya Richardson Jackson; D: Luis Mandoki; W: Ronald Bass, Al Franken; C: Lajos Koltai; M: Zbigniew Preisner. Blockbuster ‘95: Drama Actress, V. (Ryan).