Shares Quite a Lot
Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades
You read about celebrities like Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas and Tiger Woods being treated for sex addiction. Is this a rich man’s disease -- like gout?
Not so, according to “Thanks for Sharing,” the intriguing film that’s still playing at the Tropic Cinema. It argues that sex addiction is a common affliction, not just an excuse someone comes up with when caught cheating.
This dramedy by first-time director Stuart Blumberg follows three men in and out of their 12-step program for sex addiction. With all the film’s talk about sobriety, it’s hard to tell it from an AA meeting. They all seem to be “friends of Bill.”
The three guys fighting against perpetual horniness are Adam (Mark Ruffalo), his sponsor Mike (Tim Robbins), and his sponsee Neil (Josh Gad).
Adam meets the girl of his dreams (Gwyneth Paltrow), but faces not-too-surprising trust issues when she discovers his womanizing past. Mike has friction with his grown son (Patrick Fugit), a guy who’s had substance-abuse problems due to his tough upbringing. And Neil is a doctor who gets fired for uncontrollable voyeurism, but is helped to get back on track by a female sex addict (the singer Pink).
Mark Ruffalo seems to be enjoying his leading man status that came from “The Kids Are All Right” and “The Avengers.” Tim Robbins remains a fine actor with his baby face and now-white hair. And TV actor Josh Gad passes as a good substitute for Jonah Hill or Jack Black.
Gwyneth Paltrow is tempting in her skimpy underwear; Joely Richardson is supportive as Mike’s long-suffering wife. And Alecia “Pink” Moore helps turn the chubby doctor into a “George Clooney in ER.”
In a culture where we’re conditioned to see sexual prowess as a desirable trait, you have to shift your mindset a tad to understand sexual addiction as an affliction that you’d want to avoid.
Too much of a good thing, as the saying goes.
srhoades@aol.com
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