Meet Kate Hannah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). By day, Mrs. Hannah is a fun loving, thoughtful elementary teacher with a solid reputation with her kids and other faculty members, including vice principal Dave Davies (Nick Offerman). By night, Kate is a party hard lush whose favorite past times include pre-gaming with her equally alcohol swilling husband Charlie (Aaron Paul) and hitting up the bars until the lights of last call create an alarming end to all the “fun.” Mornings for Kate consist of waking up to soiled sheets, having a beer in the shower, and taking a quick parking lot swig before heading in to start the school day.
One particular hang over is too much for Mrs. Hannah to handle, and she “tosses her cookies” in front of the kids. To make matters worse, she is seen by Mr. Davies during her “morning routine” that same day. But instead of levying punishment, he reveals to the young teacher that he has been “nine years sober” and still regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous. He goes on to explain his group is small, and welcoming to new members if she were interested. After another exhaustive drunk night that was topped off by a hit of crack and waking up in the middle of the street in a strange part of town, Kate decides enough is enough and gives the meetings “another try.” And after observing fellow charismatic AA mate Jenny (Octavia Spencer), who quickly offers her sponsorship, the bright, youthful teacher decides to “get clean” before her flame burns out. But while she is prepared to put the brakes on the “24/7 party,” Charlie isn’t quite as ready to quit the $1 draft, rock n’ roll lifestyle. This sets the stage for a performance driven piece where emotions run free and the right touch of humor makes sure the “heavy stuff” doesn’t carry an overwhelming amount of gravity.
I have a sort of love/hate relationship when it comes to these types of independent pictures. I’ve seen some that are super pretentious, not interesting, and all the actors give off an heir of unappealing apathy. Smashed is thankfully not one of those ventures. Admittedly, I knew nothing of director James Ponsoldt. But he and Susan Burke teamed up to write the piece; this is made evident by the way Ponsoldt’s scenes all move the preceding along with clarity and melodic tone. The term “screen economy” comes to mind. Nothing is wasted. Everything fits well and flows seamlessly with what comes next. Additionally, the photography is really interesting in some instances and conveys the theme of the scene, (like a decent amount of shake accompanying nervous “Kate wake ups”) or draws you into strong, emotive moments. The only real “knock” is that there aren’t many moving parts to the narrative. Pretty straight and simple with very little variation once it gets going. But it definitely has the whimsical appeal of many other neo-indie dramas recently released.
Before seeing this film, I had watched Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a few other roles: Scott Pilgrim, The Thing (2011), and her “advanced cameo” in Death Proof. While she was good in all of these, I was really impressed with her glimpses of, dare I say, brilliance here. True, Kate doesn’t go through a multitude of changes in character (there is basically sober and drunk), but that’s still more than what many leading roles command these days. And as previously stated, the narrow track allows her to “zero in” on her few important points. Having said that, her personas are completely divided. It’s like night and day (in quite a literal sense in some regards) between the two sides of her character. Tragic, yet comical encapsulates her on the sauce. “Dry” Kate is sensible, smart, and focused. The few moments during the AA meetings when she has to turn on the water works seem proportioned and sincere. This may have been a challenge for her, but I feel as though it paid off and can be a proud selection in her young career.
The rest of the cast is most definitely supporting, but is quite impacting. The worth of Aaron Paul isn’t felt early. But after the first half is eclipsed, and his wife is no longer his “go to player” on his drinking team, their friction becomes enthralling and he stands side by side with Winstead. I had heard about Nick Offerman, but hadn’t seen him in anything prior. After this, I may just have to check out Parks and Recreation. His screen time is limited, but the few exchanges between he and Kate jump off the screen and provide that necessary detour of comedy. And what can be said about the amazing Octavia Spencer? I’m usually not a fan of the term “character actor.” To me, it carries a notion of lack luster skill on the part of the performer. Or their abilities are so limited, that they can only embody two or three stock types. If that describes Spencer, then she’s the best of her lot we have today. Her and MEW display great rapport during their back and forth dialogue. Spencer is eloquently important to the work’s story, despite her sightings being low, much like Offerman. She rounds out a troupe that will be hard to match in the low budget category this year.
I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of presentation on this DVD. Things sounded really crisp and clear. It was also nice to see good levels set for the voice portion of the audio. This is a dramedy. Spoken word is the main focus. This Dolby track understands that notion. And if I didn’t know better, I would have guessed I was watching a low end Blu-ray. I’m not exaggerating. Smashed looked as good as any DVD I’ve seen (even better than the same format version of Skyfall I saw a couple of weeks ago). Predictably, the Special Features section of this indie release isn’t exactly sprawling, but it’s heart is in the right place. “Making Smashed” sees Director James Ponsoldt, with Winstead, Spencer, Offerman and others going through the normal behind-the-scenes routine and gives “look-ins” during principle photography. “Toronto Film Festival Red Carpet and Q&A” shoots on location at the movie’s premier, and has the aforementioned cast and crew answering questions from inquiring audience members. There is also Commentary with Ponsoldt and Winstead, Deleted Scenes, and a Theatrical Trailer.