My only real complaint about Smashed would be that there's just not enough of it. Things happen way too fast, we get very little time with the relationship between Charlie and Kate before it starts crumbling, and I have a feeling that an extra fifteen minutes in the first act of the film - focusing on Charlie and Kate, rather than extra time given to Nick Offerman and Octavia Spencer, who do remarkable work but whose characters are given far too much screen-time - could have driven Smashed right into modern classic territory. Because the ingredients are all there - the screenplay is insightful, clever and touching, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul both deliver fantastic, fresh, funny and very real performances.
As it is, Smashed mostly remains a light-hearted slice-of-life dramedy that doesn't quite hold enough substance, nor does it make up its mind about how seriously it wants to treat the subject matter. Offerman offers a strange and disturbing comic relief where Aaron Paul's character - which seemed interesting and complex - is left barely explored. Winstead pretty much has to carry the film herself, and she does just that - her performance is the real revelation of the film, and she makes Kate a fascinating, real and complicated character who's hard not to love and care for, whatever questionable decisions she might make. Her performance and the screenplay make the story an engaging one that's hard to resist and made me just want to see more of.
As it is, Smashed mostly remains a light-hearted slice-of-life dramedy that doesn't quite hold enough substance, nor does it make up its mind about how seriously it wants to treat the subject matter. Offerman offers a strange and disturbing comic relief where Aaron Paul's character - which seemed interesting and complex - is left barely explored. Winstead pretty much has to carry the film herself, and she does just that - her performance is the real revelation of the film, and she makes Kate a fascinating, real and complicated character who's hard not to love and care for, whatever questionable decisions she might make. Her performance and the screenplay make the story an engaging one that's hard to resist and made me just want to see more of.