Permanent Midnight

I don't think this movie is supposed to be funny, but I laughed so hard continuously throughout this movie that my stomach muscles started hurting. If you are a Ben Stiller fan, and thought Meet The Parents was funny, you have... Full review

I saw it once before, years ago, and it left an indelible impression on me. I watched it again just ten minutes ago, and I am confirmed in my praise.The performances are tops, the story dark but very funny -... Full review

Ben Stiller does a fantastic job taking on the role of Jerry Stahl and switches easily, and almost naturally, to a deeper and darker character; much different from his usual slap-stick humour. The story is well written and well played, and... Full review

Everybody keeps raving how Ben Stiller can act really serious if he wants to, but in PERMANENT MIDNIGHT he was still that odd, stressed out, quirky character he is in every movie. I mean, don't get me wrong, the movie is... Full review

Poor little rich kid, Jerry Stahl, an actual TV screenwriter in 1980s Hollywood, p***es all his good fortune away through a hefty heroin habit. Jerry then hits bottom, recovers, and writes his autobiography. "Permanent Midnight" chronicles Jerry's fall from Hollywood... Full review

Probably one of the best movies about drugs that I've ever seen. An excellent performance by Ben Stiller in one of his most serious roles. If you want to see a movie that portrays the life-style associated with drugs accurately,... Full review

I think Ben Stiller is one of the most talented comic actors currently working, even though he is often in awful movies (e.g. 'Zoolander', 'The Suburbans'). 'Permanent Midnight' is one of the best movies he has been involved with and... Full review

Spoilers herein.Just another story, but not very interesting. Good performances wasted.Comparing this to `Hurlyburly,' it seems really trivial.The best part of the film was Janine Garofalo. Tiny role. Big space she occupies, just near the beginning. She controls the space... Full review

First, let me apologize for the easy joke in the one line summary. It was simply too easy to pass up. And sometimes writers fall back on easy cliches, especially in headlines.Actually, make that especially in headlines and in movies... Full review

Although the movie is uneven in both some performances and situations, it's worth watching Ben Stiller powerful characterization of Jerry Stahl. There are scenes very difficult to watch due to extreme use of drugs. It's not for the average audiences.... Full review

Permanent Midnight s failure to more fully explore the latter possibility turns what might have been a charged performance from Stiller into a perfunctory one. Permanent Midnight aspires to a level of deconstructive pulp on par with Denis Johnsons Jesus Son , a drug odyssey that manages to wrangle the smallest moments of tragic beauty out of ugliness and despair. ... Full Review

A satisfying film works like a satisfying anecdote:....it rather brazenly hedges its bets on this same reward system, except now it has to be sustained over an hour and a half.....Jerry, we learn, was once a gifted comedy writer living in LA.....The film, like Jerry, is a classic case of self-sabotage.....Largely unsympathetic, the best Stiller can hope for as Jerry is a "realistic" portrayal of bottomless addiction..... ... Full Review

But he's absolutely awful here.....the plot itself is quite appealing....The script is extremely weak, skipping around Stahl's life....Veloz delivers a couple of cool shots.... ... Full Review

Permanent Midnight doesn't offer much in the way of surprises or revelations. Nevertheless, as familiar as the material may be, Veloz and Stiller invigorate it, making Permanent Midnight a more compelling and effective motion picture than one might normally anticipate from an entry into what has become a crowded field. ... Full Review

Now, Stiller, known for his comedic work, takes a surprisingly smooth turn into drama in "Permanent Midnight," playing a TV scriptwriter with a $5,000 a week heroin habit. The movie's overriding point - heroin is bad for you - is true, but hardly novel. ... Full Review

In what seems like an almost too-obvious connection, nonprofit organization Writers In Treatment , or WIT , has announced that it will host the Reel Recovery Film Series , an (wait for it) addiction-themed film festival. ... Full Article

SORE WINNERS: American Idols, Patriotic Shoppers, and Other Strange Species in George Bush's America | By John Powers | Anchor | 416 pages | $14 paperbackNewly released this month is the paperpack edition of L.A. ... Full Article

Is Fatty Arbuckle the forgotten man of Hollywood?He's certainly the guy about whom people know one thing, which is the Coke bottle.I just thought he flattened the woman. ... Full Article

The trouble is that it's hard to care -- even though the film is well-acted, artfully shot and at times haunting in its bleakness. The adaptation of Stahl's autobiography is a resolute study of a man's descent into the drug ... Full Article

From Amazon : Like the book it is named after and based on, Permanent Midnight is a chronicle of downfall. Jerry Stahl, the story goes, showed promise when doing shifts as a porn writer for Hustler and Penthouse, and his... ... Full Article