Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

disdressed12 i've always liked Michael Keaton,and i've seen him in lots of comedic roles maybe one or two dramatic roles,but nothing quite like this.he proves his versatility here,with a career performance,in my opinion.i don't think it's giving too much away to say that Keaton plays a character who has hit rock bottom and keeps on digging.he's an alcoholic and a drug addict,and and in deep financially.so,what starts as a purely selfish decision on his apart becomes a life changing experience.but lets not forget the supporting performances.Morgan Freeman, Kathy Baker,Tate Donovan were all strong,but a standout for me was Luca Bercovici as Lenny.now,back to the film.i found it all quite compelling,but it was the ending which really moved me.it was very understated,yet powerful.the words spoken in the last scene were perfect.for me,Clean and Sober is a 9/10

sddavis63 Michael Keaton is ostensibly the star of this movie. There's no doubt that he gets most of the screen time, and his character of Darryl Poynter is the one around whose experiences the movie revolves. Darryl is a hot shot commercial real estate salesman with a couple of problems: first, he's embezzled $90,000 and is on the verge of getting caught, and second, he's an alcoholic and drug addict who hasn't admitted that fact to himself, and who discovers (at the same time he realizes that his embezzlement has been found out) that a girl he picked up at a mall the night before has died of an overdose in his bed. With everything closing in on him, Darryl needs a place to escape to so that he can figure his next move out, and he decides to check himself into an addiction counselling centre to take advantage of its confidentiality. He has to lie his way through while there, to convince his counsellor (played by Morgan Freeman) that (1) he accepts that he's an addict, and (2) that he's serious about recovery so he can stay. At the centre, he meets Charley (Kathy Baker), who's dealing with her own addictions and her relationship with her husband, who is both an addict and abusive (certainly verbally; possibly physically.)While Keaton was the star, I was actually far more taken with Baker's performance and her character of Charley. She did a great job portraying this character who was struggling to overcome her drug and alcohol addiction, but who continually allowed herself to be manipulated by both Lenny (the husband) and Darryl, who develops a real obsession with her (to the point at which he seemed more like a stalker than anything else.) I thought Charley's story was more interesting and far more sad, while Darryl was most interesting when he was dealing with Charley. In the end, a tragedy involving Charley (which somewhat mirrors the tragedy the movie opened with) is what jars Darryl into finally admitting to his addictions.This isn't the most powerful movie dealing with the issues of addiction and alcoholism I've ever seen (I'd probably give that nod to 1962's "Days Of Wine And Roses" with Jack Lemmon) but it's an interesting, if somewhat melancholy, movie. 7/10

hnt_dnl On the surface, CLEAN AND SOBER is a downright, downbeat film about alcoholism and drug addiction. But if you really stay tuned and pay attention, it is an inspiring story of redemption of a human being that has reached rock bottom, but along the way finds himself and his soul. In this film, Michael Keaton gives the best performance of the year, 1988. It still ticks me off to this day that he wasn't even nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. But the National Society of Film Critics did recognize him as Best Actor that year for this film and BEETLEJUICE, so that is something.Keaton plays Darryl Poynter, a middle class (back when there was one to speak of) business executive who is deep into alcohol and drugs. One morning, he finds the girl that he hooked up with has overdosed and calls the cops. He is informed to stick around town until the matter is resolved. He has also embezzled money from his company for a business scheme and rather than face what he has done, he checks himself into a rehab clinic (he heard about it over the radio). The clinic would completely 'hide' him and keep his confidence. No one would know he was there or how to find him.Darryl's initial intro to the clinic is rocky to say the least. He immediately antagonizes the clinic's counselor Craig (played by the great Morgan Freeman). Craig knows that Darryl is a con artist and is just using the clinic as a shield. Darryl also has a few shaky run-ins with fellow addict Charlie (played by Kathy Baker in another Oscar-worthy performance in this film). During his time at the clinic, Darryl gets to meet with a sponsor Richard (played by the great character actor M. Emmett Walsh). Slowly but surely Richard helps Darryl to see that he is indeed an addict and needs help, and the main source of help needs to come from within himself.I recall seeing this film when it first came to video and then cable back in the late 80s and I must have watched it repeatedly at least a dozen or so times around then and have had the privilege of seeing it a few times since. It is surprisingly watchable and not as downbeat as it appears. It is realistic without being sentimental, sappy, or overly emotional. Every moment is believable and every character is authentic, even the most minute ones. And Keaton is just plain remarkable. I can't wait to see it again. This is easily the performance that Michael Keaton should always be remembered for and associated with.And it is a film that anyone who has ever felt like their life was in turmoil and there was no hope should watch and learn from. With a great lead performance, strong supporting ones, a solid script, and a finely tuned story, CLEAN AND SOBER may be the best film ever about such a sad, important subject.

george.schmidt CLEAN AND SOBER (1988) ***1/2 Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman, M. Emmett Walsh, Tate Donovan, Claudia Christian, Brian Benben. Keaton gives a tour de force performance as chemical addict businessman facing big troubles and decides to cool off in a detox/rehab center run by a no-nonsense counselor (excellent Foreman). Great acting and tight, realistic direction from Glenn Gordon Caron (creator of tv's "Moonlighting" in this his feature film debut) and Baker's scenes with Keaton recall the desperation of Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "The Days of Wine and Roses". Watch Keaton's modulated reaction on learning of a tragic event. Heart-wrenching at times.