Thanks for Sharing

Thanks for Sharing
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stuart Blumberg
Written by	Stuart Blumberg Matt Winston
Produced by	William Migliore David Koplan Leslie Urdang Dean Vanech Miranda de Pencier
Starring	Mark Ruffalo Tim Robbins Gwyneth Paltrow Josh Gad Joely Richardson Patrick Fugit Carol Kane Alecia Moore
Cinematography	Yaron Orbach
Edited by	Anne McCabe
Music by	Christopher Lennertz
Production companies	Olympus Pictures Class 5 Films
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release date	September 6, 2012 (2012-09-06) (TIFF) September 20, 2013 (2013-09-20) (United States)
Running time	112 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$3.5 million[2]

Thanks for Sharing is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Stuart Blumberg, who co-wrote the screenplay with Matt Winston. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad, Joely Richardson, Patrick Fugit, Carol Kane, and Pink (credited as Alecia Moore), with a supporting cast including Michaela Watkins, Emily Meade, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews,^[3] and was released in the United States a year later.^[4]

Plot[]

Set in NYC, Thanks for Sharing centers around three people undergoing a 12-step process to recover from their sexual addiction.

Adam walks the streets of New York, tempted to have sex by various ads and women on his way to work. Neil, a doctor addicted to sex and masturbation, purposely grinds against a stranger in a train on the way to a sex addiction meeting. Mike is a married recovering sex addict and group leader. He sponsors Adam, who in turn sponsors Neil.

They are all at the sex addiction meeting, talking about their progress. Adam has been abstinent for five years, while Neil cracks jokes and admits he is there due to a court order. He goes back to masturbating that night, and lies about being one month sober to the addiction group.

Adam meets Phoebe at a party and they go out on a date. She is a breast cancer survivor and her ex is an alcoholic; he does not tell her about his own addiction fearing rejection. They begin a relationship.

Dede joins the sex addiction meetings, saying her addiction began from a very young age. Neil, a doctor, is caught secretly filming up the skirt of his boss, and is fired. He then takes the meetings more seriously, admitting he has a problem. Meanwhile, Mike's son Danny, a recovering drug addict, has returned home and is attempting to make amends to his parents.

Phoebe discovers about Adam's sex addiction after finding an addiction token in his pocket the morning after sleeping with him. She takes some time away from him, but eventually agrees to resume their relationship. Neil talks Dede out of having sex with her abusive ex, and they go dancing. They almost kiss, but don't.

Mike and Danny get into a fight when Mike assumes he stole his mother's pills. Danny mentions Mike gave Katie hepatitis C, and confronts him about hitting him when as a child. Mike slaps him, he attacks back knocking Katie over; realizing what he has done, Danny panics and runs out.

Phoebe is frustrated with Adam's reticence to be physical with her, and breaks it off after a fight. Adam sleeps with a prostitute. Dede comes over to Neil's, helping to clean and burns his porn. She admits she has never been "just friends" with a man before.

Mike finds Katie's pills, realizing Danny did not steal them. She tells him off for "always having to be right" and tells him to leave the house. While he is out and about to relapse with a bottle of bourbon, Katie calls to tell him Danny is in the hospital after a DUI. Mike hugs his son in the hospital, who had been sober for the past eight months.

Adam invites his ex Becky over, and they start out by reenacting her father issues. When she wants him to slap her. and he refuses, she breaks down, locking herself in the bathroom and attempting suicide. Neil takes the train to get to Adam's and breaks down the bathroom door to save her. Adam gets sober and goes back to Phoebe, who admits she too is not perfect. Neil confronts his inappropriately sexual mother, Roberta, and the addicts celebrate their sobriety.

Cast[]

• Mark Ruffalo as Adam
• Tim Robbins as Mike
• Gwyneth Paltrow as Phoebe
• Josh Gad as Neil
• Joely Richardson as Katie
• Alecia Moore as Dede
• Patrick Fugit as Danny
• Carol Kane as Roberta
• Michaela Watkins as Marney
• Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Charles
• Emily Meade as Becky
• Poorna Jagannathan as Lili Kazhani
• Okieriete Onaodowan as Lou
• David Wain, Brian Koppelman, and Matt Winston make cameos as SAA group members

Reception[]

Thanks for Sharing was met with mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a positive score of 51% based on 114 reviews, with an average rating of 5.59/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Thanks For Sharing showcases some fine performances but doesn't delve into its thorny premise as deeply as it should".^[5] Metacritic reports a score of 54 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".^[6]

Richard Roeper gave the film a largely positive review, saying "First-time director Blumberg does a fine job and makes some brave choices."^[7] Laremy Legel of Film.com was among the most critical, giving the film a D+, and commenting that it "can't quite find its footing as either a drama or a comedy, and near the end it's actively sliding off the rails".^[8] Nigel Barrington of the Daily Chronicle also criticized the film heavily, dubbing it First World Problems: The Movie.^{[citation needed]} Otherwise, Alecia Moore's role was praised by critics. Dan Callahan wrote about her performance saying, "Of all the cast here, the least experienced is the pop singer Pink, yet she does the best acting in the film: natural, a little harsh, a little unstable. Pink, like Macy Gray in her Lee Daniels movie roles, knows instinctively how to behave on camera by just pretending that the camera isn't there."^[9] Sandy Schaefer praised the film, arguing that "the good elements outweigh the bad in Thanks for Sharing and the final result is a commendable examination of addiction, sex and the nature of grown-up relationships (among other issues that are rarely black and white)."^[10]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Thanks for Sharing at IMDb
• Thanks for Sharing at Box Office Mojo
• Thanks for Sharing at Rotten Tomatoes
• Thanks for Sharing at Metacritic