Permanent Midnight

Plot synopsis:
Approaching the end of a drug rehabilitation program, Jerry Stahl (Stiller) quits his job at a fast food restaurant on an impulse when an attractive woman named Kitty (Bello) pulls up at the drive-through window. The two check into a motel, where Jerry tells her about his life in between bouts of sex. A series of flashbacks, intercut with their conversations, details his working life to this point.
After moving to Los Angeles from New York City, Jerry – already addicted to various prescription medications – becomes friends with another addict, Nicky (Wilson). At the urging of Nicky and his girlfriend Vola (Lourdes Benedicto), Jerry marries Vola's friend Sandra (Hurley) so she can get her green card. Sandra uses her position at a television studio to get Jerry onto the writing staff of the popular comedy series Mr. Chompers. He uses memories from his childhood, including his mother's hysterical grief over his father's death, to fuel his writing.
He juggles his Mr. Chompers job and regular visits to a heroin dealer, Dita (Liz Torres). However, his drug use eventually gets him fired. Sandra finds him a new job with a different series, No Such Luck, but star Pamela Verlaine (Cheryl Ladd) – herself a recovering addict – sternly but sympathetically insists that he kick his habit first.
As soon as Jerry starts on a methadone program, he runs across a dealer named Gus (Peter Greene), who introduces him to crack cocaine and later Dilaudid. His increased drug use costs him his new job, and Sandra throws him out, disgusted at his decision to shoot up when she tells him she is pregnant. Her opinion of him falls even further when he shows up high for the birth of his daughter Nina.
While looking after Nina one night, he gets high and is arrested by the police. The incident further strains his relationship with Sandra, who makes it clear that she would prefer to see as little of him as possible.
The flashbacks end at this point, with Jerry returning to Los Angeles in hopes of being part of Nina's life. As he begins to resurrect his stalled writing career, he gets a surprise visit from Kitty. The two have one last sexual encounter before she leaves to move to Anchorage.
In the final scene, Jerry appears on a series of talk shows and news programs, while commenting in voice-over about the damage that his addiction has done to his life. "I got out with a bad liver and enough debt to keep me in hock 'til I'm 90, if I'm still here. And with my luck, I will be."

Tags: dramatic, flashback

Review:
Smart black comedy with Ben Stiller's best performance to date..
I think Ben Stiller is one of the most talented comic actors currently working, even though he is often in awful movies (e.g.
'Permanent Midnight' is one of the best movies he has been involved with and features what is arguably his single finest performance.
Based on the autobiography of TV hack writer Jerry Stahl, this is a smart, fresh and blackly humorous look at addiction and Hollywood.
Stiller has a fine supporting cast here, especially his buddies and frequent co-stars Owen Wilson ('Bottle Rocket') and Janeane Garofolo ('Reality Bites'), the amazingly charismatic star-in-the-making Peter Greene ('Laws Of Gravity'), and comedy veteran Fred Willard ('Best In Show'), who all have small but memorable roles.
'Permanent Midnight' was, like so many other good movies that don't pander to a mass audience, a box office flop, but will hopefully find a larger audience in years to come via video and DVD.
There's a scene where - this really isn't a spoiler, given the context of the movie - where Jerry dumps some pills out of a prescription bottle, and they look exactly like the kind of pills they're supposed to be.
One thing that movies never quite get right or, perhaps like this one, simply choose to ignore, are the details of how one actually turns one's life around from being addicted to recovering, and this movie was no exception.
Ben Stiller Takes a Good Dramatic Turn.
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.
It's like watching a car wreck in very slow motion.Ben Stiller does an excellent job portraying Jerry, with his craving for the drug rising above, and then destroying, all that's good in his life.
An excellent performance by Ben Stiller in one of his most serious roles.
Permanent Midnight, while certainly not the best film ever made about heroin addiction, is a very solid film that was largely over looked by both critics and the public.
The brightest jewel in this film's crown is Ben Stiller's performance as Jerry Stahl.
I found it interesting that while Stiller got loads of attention for getting his "package" caught in his zipper in "There's Something About Mary" (which is a very funny moive) hardly an eye was blinked when he gave the performance of his career in "Midnight." I think this film proves the theory that often comedic actors give the best dramatic performances.
Since I haven't read Jerry Stahl's book of the same name, I cannot speak to the truth of the framing sequences which feature Maria Bello as an ex-drug addict named Kitty.
I can only say how painfully convenient it is for recovering Jerry (Ben Stiller) to have this blond angel more than willing to hear his story of degradation.
As shown in the film, there's nothing about his life that leads the the progression of his drug addiction.
No matter how bad things seems to get, the audience knows it could always be worse, because we've seen worse drug addictions in a dozen movies of varying qualities.
Veloz clearly sets the film up as Ben Stiller's show.As Jerry Stahl, Stiller is never less than solid.
Permanent Midnight is the autobiographical story of the life and times of Jerry Stahl.
Ben Stiller's performance as Jerry Stahl was dramatic to say the least.
Stiller's performance was excellent and really showed me the flipside of what could happen to somebody when they get hooked on drugs.
The whole cast from Maria Bello to Elizabeth Hurley were solid support for the main character, Jerry Stahl.
The real Jerry Stahl actually had a role, which surprised me, as Dr. Murphy from the drug rehabilitation clinic.
I warn anyone who wants to watch Permanent Midnight to brace themselves for extreme drug use by sticking needles in arms and sensual love scenes.
Although the movie is uneven in both some performances and situations, it's worth watching Ben Stiller powerful characterization of Jerry Stahl.
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 - and factual - based on Jerry Stahl's book of the same name.
Jerry Stahl is played by Ben Stiller in his most challenging yet most convincing role to date.
It's a real privilege to watch such a performance.Mind you, I'm not exactly Ben Stiller's biggest fan (to be fair, I have enjoyed a few of his films), and Jerry Stahl was the writer of the TV show ALF; while that could have been a turn-off for me, it wasn't.
I think Ben Stiller is typecast; I've only seen him play quirky Jewish guys in comedies.
He's quite good at that (because that's basically what he is), but I was very interested to see him in a serious role, so I rented this film.
The story is told in segments, meaning the film jumps around a lot; Jerry (Stiller) switches dealers and loses friends out of the blue, but more importantly, the entire period between when he is in rehab and when the film begins is alluded to but is noticeably absent (how and why DID he come to that "fateful" fast food job?).
The film focuses mainly on the beginning of Jerry's downfall due to addiction, but never tells the whole story (he never seems to hit addiction's true rock bottom).
The segway between these sequences - Jerry telling another ex-addict more of his "story", should've been done away with; its totally unnecessary and serves only to lead to an ending that makes little sense, even within the context of the segways.Besides all the missing sequences leaving gaping and occasionally confusing holes in the story, the story left isn't terribly interesting.
Stiller is just as good in a dramatic role (although, somewhat ironically, his character is a quirky Jewish addict), and Elizabeth Hurley gives an excellent supporting performance as Jerry's marriage-of-convenience-wife who actually cares about him, but gets the fall-back from his addiction instead (her response to these incidents is only hinted at, and should have been extended on).
Janeane Garofalo is another great supporting character (Jerry's agent) that deserved more screen time.
Besides sporting great performances, there are a few inspired scenes, though due to the story's disjointed order, they feel just as "dropped in" as the rest of the story's major developments.There's nothing outright wrong with the film, it's just missing too much.
For Any Fan of Drug Films, Fast-Paced Stylized Biographies, and Ben Stiller.
Permanent Midnight seems at first like another film you will love.
It's the story of a drug- addicted real-life semi-celebrity, it's directed with slick style and a fast pace, and it provokes emotion with its increasingly gloomy atmosphere and R-rated subject matter.
This is a very good movie about the horrors of drug addiction.
Jim Carrey and Robin Williams are further proof of this -- no one can cry on cue like these guys.Add in other terrific performances by Owen Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, Fred Willard, Peter Greene, Sheryl Ladd, Andy Dick, Charlie Fleischer, and even Jerry Stahl.
Just the right type of personality, definitely not exactly a light hearted movie, just as Jerry Stahl's true life however, he wrote it so well those of us who understand his point can appreciate his story.
Permanent Midnight is a good film all things considered.
Though when watching Stiller as the Stahl character one may regret that this movie isn't incredible.
Throughout the film Stiller's performance gets more and more intense but the direction goes nowhere.
I'll tell ya there's nothing quite like the belting emotional vocal stylings of Art Alexakis to ruin a nice little film about heroin addiction.
The story seems to start in midway, and it seems like the movie is over before you really know about the characters other than Stillers' drug addiction.
It wasn't bad, and the acting was pretty good (Stiller was quite good as the drug addicted T.V. writer).
Decently good Ben Stiller on crack flick.
This little indi flick is in many ways a very Ben Stiller movie, but it's like watching Ben Stiller with a needle in his arm.
From the autobiography of writer Jerry Stahl, Stiller plays the part of a drug addicted L.A. TV writer very cool, and trashed looking.
There are some intense drug use moments and the film had a good flow- some good humorous bits from Stiller's pals Garofalo and Andy Dick..
The best thing about this believable, and interesting, bio of a drug addicted TV writer is the supporting performance of Maria Bello.
I've waited two years to see what the fuss was about and although Stiller is very good, the film as a whole is pretty mediocre.
Stahl is not a very sympathetic character and any depth of motivation is merely hinted at and throughout the film you get the feeling you're in real life TV movie-land..
In David Veloz's adaption of Jerry Stahl's autobiography, he examines the pattern of addiction, and how a junkie evolves from a person getting high, to a person who needs it to keep from getting sick.
Drugs are the problem and the solution to everything in his life.Ben Stiller gives a insightful performance of a man who is making his own choices, but is still a observer, like the people he hurts.
Ben Stiller captivates as drug addict Jerry Stahl.
Despite the following facts:  1) Jerry's arranged marriage to Sandra (Elizabeth Hurley) provides a stable backdrop for his addiction, 2) Jerry's friends fade from his life without major conflicts, and 3) the job offers abound throughout Jerry's dead-man-walking behavior, Stiller manages to salvage the role and make it believable.
I remember about a half hour into the movie realising that I was watching Ben Stiller.
I feel that Permanent Midnight and Your Friends and Neighbors are his finest movies.I found the film to be as much about Los Angeles as it was about the pitfalls of junkiedom.
His portrayal of man who is distracted by his addiction at all times is excellent.Unfortunately, that's the only redeeming thing about this film (aside from the chance to stare at Elizabeth Hurley, of course.)I read in an above commentary that the viewer is never shown that Jerry is brilliant.
I am a big fan of Ben Stiller, and the previews for this film looked promising.
The one redeeming quality this film has is Ben Stiller's performance - brilliant.
Having to play the role of the Hollywood writer who is without passion, except for his drug habit, Stiller is amazing from beginning to end.
Many of the Ben Stiller Show alumni return to do cameos including long time friend Owen Wilson.
I know Ben Stiller was trying to do the right thing here - his performance shows it.
Jerry Stahl led a pitiful existence - both as a junkie and a TV writer (the joke is, of course, which is worse?)- but his book was totally BUTCHERED.Which, going back to Stiller, is a shame; Ben put a lot into the acting - but who was asleep at the wheel on the REST of the production?
and out the other end.Ben Stiller's Stahl is utterly believable, cetainly his best work to date as an actor.
I know that it is not always possible for Hollywood to make a faithful adaptation of a book, because of time restraints, budgets, etc., but David Veloz's version of Jerry Stahl's autobiography is a major disappointment.
This movie has been made and remade so often, but Ben Stiller is believable enough to make this one of the better ones.
I really like Ben Stiller but a good performance on his part just wasn't enough..
Jerry Stahl actually HELPED his damaged career by admitting what a terrible drug addict he was.
Plus the film's decision to wrap around the story with Stiller meeting the crazy and wild sober chick is like a bad one-act with two people stuck in a motel room.
it features ben stiller in a strong dramatic performance.
There have been many drug addiction movies: "A Panic in Needle Park", "Scarface", "Drugstore Cowboy", "Naked Lunch", "The Basketball Diaries", "Trainspotting", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and now "Permanent Midnight".
This last one features Ben Stiller as writer Jerry Stahl, who is battling heroin addiction.
Throughout the movie, we follow Jerry around and see how the addiction is affecting his life and relationships.
With a cast that includes Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Janeane Garofalo, many people probably came into expecting a comedy.
While Permanent Midnight has its funny moments, it's basically a drama.While this is based on the true story of TV writer Jerry Stahl, it fictionalized a bit.
It's not the direction is bad, but it's certainly nothing special and there are a few places where it's a little hard to follow.This doesn't drag the movie too far down though as it rests largely on the actors, specifically Ben Stiller, who shows any naysayers here that he can do drama.
He does a great job portraying someone who's a likable guy with a pretty decent life who just keeps using more and more drugs until he starts freaking out in public, shooting up into his jugular and generally wrecking everything and losing whatever self-respect he had.Despite the subject matter, Permanent Midnight avoids becoming too depressing through bits of humor, a short (88 min) running time and an optimistic perspective.I doubt this is the best movie for scaring your kids off drugs, but recommended for people who like stories about overcoming or are fans of Jerry Stahl or any of the actors..
Permanent Midnight,First-Viewing, owned pirated DVD,(David Veloz)- Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Hurley, Maria Bello, Janeane Garafalo, Owen WilsonAn interesting true story of a TV writer (Stiller) who's heroin addiction causes him to go from a successful TV writer to working at McDonald's.
Stiller gives a relatively good performance, didn't think he could handle a serious role like this, he wasn't bad, atlhough not great, as the script was pretty boring.
The rest of the cast are OK, Owen Wilson is probably the stand-out, as Stiller's best friend.
The movie narrate the true story of Jerry Stahl,a Hollywood tv writer slave of heroin,but not because he would "unpack",but for stop to feeling bad.At first sight Jerry Stahl seems a normal gay guy ,but if you looking better you can see a dark shadow in his personality , a dark shadow where grow up his ghost's pain,that it change in destruction of himself.A pain in appearence inexplicable,but always present.Ben Stiller is very good in the character of Jerry Stahl,and his decline phisical and psychic is worthy to biggest drama hollywood actors.I admite Stiller,but he is remember from a pubblic only for less movie,as "There's something about Mary",that it's not a bad movie,but neither a deeply movie as "Permanent Midnight".This story may report to the story of John Belushi,but the movie that it narrate"Wired" not is very succesful.My rate is 7..
"Permanent Midnight" is a just another junkie flick (like we need another junkie flick) and not a very good one at that.
How many times can you watch a drug addict lapse back into his old ways.
The last love scene between the main characters conveyed a much more genuine feeling of connection and caring that comes from having lost in life, from forgiveness, from life experiences that hinted at the true potential of this movie and the heights of expression it could have achieved.Surely, it's a different screenplay, but is one that tells a whole story that is worthy of a feature-length film..
Ben Stiller does a great job as the main character and Peter Greene is a pleasure to watch as usual.
Therefore, actresses like Maria Bello and Elizabeth Hurley go to complete waste despite they're good performances.
The basics: Stiller's performance is good, Maria Bello gets naked, Elizabeth Hurley doesn't, and the drug use is very graphic.Frankly, I liked this movie better when it was called "The Boost"..
PERMANENT MIDNIGHT is not a bad film, however, we have seen it in films like TRAINSPOTTING, BASKETBALL DIARIES, WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN, etc.
It is slick, graphic, and forgettable.Ben Stiller leaps into dramatic mode, and portrays real-life TV writer Jerry Stahl.
Stiller looks the part of a paranoid drug addict, but there are never any moments where we can really embrace his character and care about his problems.
Based on a true story, "Permanent Midnight" stars Ben Stiller as a Jerry Stahl, a successful television writer whose life is wrecked by a severe drug addiction.
Despite a good performance by Stiller, "Permanent Midnight" is a thin film.
Based on an allegedly true story of TV writer Jerry Stahl with a $5000 a week job and a $6000 a week cocaine habit..
SPOILERS - Even thought this is a pseudo-autobiography, in the movie it is presented as the story of Jerry (Ben Stiller) in recovery, meeting a girl (Maria Bello) in recovery, and the two of them trying to figure out if they can make a go of it, initially meeting at a cheap motel for casual sex, and by the end of the movie realizing they love each other.
During this period, the real Jerry Stahl was writing for popular 1980s series like "Moonlighting", "Alph", and "Northern Exposure." Anyway, during his addiction phase Stahl represents himself as a person with little self-control, lying, needing drugs to get through any stressful situation.
Instead, this film depicts the flu-like symptoms occurring during the time of the main character's usage of the substance which is terribly inaccurate.Movies that depict opiate addiction and withdrawal accurately would be something such as BlackBird, Jesus' Son, or The Panic in Needle Park.
Other than these inaccuracies, the film is a fairly generic story of an addict losing control of his life.
Stunning performance from Ben Stiller, but who decided to waste Owen Wilson ?