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When a Man Loves a Woman movie storyline. A dramatic treatment of a family torn apart by alcoholism and recovering from it, this was a star vehicle for popular actress Meg Ryan, who plays Alice Green, a school counselor who has a serious drinking problem. Her husband is Michael (Andy Garcia), an airline pilot.
Though she’s lighthearted and loving, Alice is often reckless and, when drunk, even neglects her children, nine-year-old daughter Jess (Tina Majorino) from a previous marriage, and four-year-old daughter Casey (Mae Whitman), whose father is Michael. After an accident, Alice realizes that she has “hit bottom” and goes into a clinic for rehab.
When she returns home, she has kicked her addiction and has become independent and strong, and her perfectionist, controlling husband has trouble adjusting. Michael is used to his wife being weak and helpless, and they end up seeing a marriage counselor to recover from Michael’s “co-dependency” on Alice’s role as an alcoholic.
When a Man Loves a Woman is a 1994 American romantic drama film written by Al Franken and Ronald Bass, starring Andy García, Meg Ryan, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Ellen Burstyn, Lauren Tom and Philip Seymour Hoffman. For her performance as an alcoholic mother, Ryan received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role. The film’s title is taken from the song of the same name by Percy Sledge.
About the Story
The film chronicles one woman’s (Meg Ryan) alcoholism and her husband’s (Andy García) efforts to help her. Meg Ryan plays Alice Green, a school counselor who has a serious drinking problem and is married to Michael (Andy García), an airline pilot. Though she’s lighthearted and loving, Alice is often reckless and, when drunk, even neglects her children: nine-year-old daughter Jess (Tina Majorino) from a previous marriage, and four-year-old daughter Casey (Mae Whitman), whose father is Michael.
One afternoon, Alice enters their home in a drunken incoherent state. She dismisses the reluctant caretaker, who leaves her alone with her children. Still drinking, Alice is confronted by her eldest daughter concerned for her mother’s welfare. In return, she violently slaps Jess, who runs to her room crying. Alice enters the shower. Unable to control her balance and calling for Jess, she falls to the side and smashes through the shower door onto the bathroom floor. Fearing her mother has died, Jess contacts Michael who immediately flies home to be by his wife’s side.
After the incident and while in the hospital, Michael and Alice confront the truth about Alice’s drinking. They jointly decide she must seek professional help for her alcoholism. Upon release from the hospital, a timid Alice enters a rehabilitation clinic.
Michael finds himself now the main caretaker of their home and two children, a role he struggles to maintain along with his career as an airline pilot. Meanwhile, at the clinic, Alice is flourishing; her recovery is painful but stabilizing and she is well liked and respected by both staff and fellow clinic tenants alike. During a family visit day at the clinic, Alice immediately begins to rebuild her shattered bond with the children leaving Michael alone to wander the grounds uncomfortable and out of place in his wife’s new lifestyle.
Alice returns home sober yet guarded. She is vocal, strong and changed. Michael is having trouble adjusting to Alice’s balance. He has become used to being the stable and controlled one in their relationship and is jealous of Alice’s lack of dependence and outside friendships. Coming to terms with their estrangement, a reluctant Michael (believing therapy is for the weak) and a willing Alice see a marriage counselor who quickly establishes Michael’s “co-dependency” on Alice’s role as an alcoholic.
Unable to find a medium and with tempers flared, Michael moves out and Alice becomes the main caretaker of their home and children. Alice is once again seen flourishing in her new role while Michael is unable to find control and seeks out a support group for spouses of alcoholics. Initially shy, Michael becomes a more vocal member of the group and shares his sorrow over his lack of understanding for the gravity his wife’s sobriety would have on him, his children and his marriage.
When a Man Loves a Woman movie trailer.
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
Directed by: Luis Mandoki
Starring: Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia, Ellen Burstyn, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Lauren Tom, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eugene Roche, Susanna Thompson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson
Screenplay by: Ronald Bass, Al Franken
Production Design by: Stuart Wurtzel
Cinematography by: Lajos Koltai
Film Editing by: Garth Craven
Costume Design by: Linda M. Bass
Set Decoration by: Kara Lindstrom
Art Direction by: Steve Saklad
Music by: Zbigniew Preisner
MPAA Rating: R for language.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: April 29, 1994
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