Raul Faust Considering my parents face problems with alcohol, just like I used to do some years ago, my therapist once indicated me this film. Before that, I've never heard about it, except for its unforgettable theme song. "When a Man Loves a Woman" is a movie made with simplicity that tells a story about a woman that discovers to be an alcoholic, and her family does its best in order to help her. Nonetheless, as you may expect, especially in a drama, things don't go in the right way with ease, so there are a lot of problems to be solved throughout the story. I admit that, for a moment, I felt like I wouldn't enjoy this picture, mainly due to the unlikeable character of Alice; in some scenes, I just wished Andy Garcia's character would leave her and find someone new. Michael seemed to be too patient for someone like Alice. However, that's what good dramas are made of: doubt. If she was perfect and easy to deal with, there would be no tense moments. The young girls that portray Green's kids are extremely cute, and gave the characters the life they needed to have, and that's what made the story even more intense. All in all, it's another great movie from the nineties!

MattyGibbs This is billed as a romantic drama but is really more of a drama and a surprisingly good one at that. It follows a family where the mother is an alcoholic and how this affects her relationship with her husband and her children. They are an apparently ideal family and she is not the typical alcoholic portrayed in most movies. The film although 20 years old has not really dated and is as relevant now as it was back then. The acting from both leads Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia is excellent with maybe Garcia just shading the acting honours with a nicely understated performance. The supporting cast is strong with heartwarming performances from both the young girls and even an appearance from the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. There are plenty of quite sad moments though you never feel that these have been manipulated. Although the ending is maybe a little predictable what goes before more than makes up for this. I had never heard of this film prior to watching it hence my apprehension prior to viewing it. It seems to me that this is one of those films that due maybe to it's subject matter is underrated. If you like a bit of emotional drama then you really can't go wrong with this film which is up there with the best of it's type. Highly recommended.

buiger I have to disagree with the critics once again. This was nothing more than a below average movie. It might have deserved a rating a little higher than 2 stars, but the ending definitely ruined whatever good was seen in the movie beforehand. I found the script was too simplistic, and the acting nothing more than average (even though I am a huge Meg Ryan fan). Andy Garcia on the other hand was totally miss-cast for the role in my opinion (come on critics, before giving up all those stars, can't you imagine the acting in such a movie by let's say... Merryl Streep and William Hurt? Just think about it... The general public on IMDb had much more sense and gave it a lower average score than the critics).This is a film with no real emotions in my opinion. We never really get the feel of the relationship between Ryan and Garcia in the beginning. We never really get to sympathize or feel for the characters as the movie moves along. None of it ever seems real... and everything seems too obvious. In order to compensate for this, the movie resolves itself in the typically Hollywoodian feel-good manner. The film is based on the currently very much in vogue culture of permissiveness; everybody can do anything and it's OK: the wife can trash a car parked on the curb and that's OK, the kids can half demolish the house, that's OK, etc. How very typical of the '68 generation. Furthermore, building on this concept, the film shows how it is OK to be weak, positive to be a loser, but if you are strong, have values and principles, live according to a set of rules, you are out, almost as if you where sick, you have to be 'healed' so that you too can become a loser... How politically correct can you get? No, definitely not for me...

vcdriver2004 I have never seen such a great movie about married life. This movie is no Hollywood fantasy, rather a lot reality oriented. The story is kinda universal......not only in married life but in love life too.Meg Ryan really delivers an Oscar caliber performance.......why wasn't she nominated for Oscars? She deserved it! She was different, she was real and she made the character her's. This is one of the best performance she has ever given. The portrayal of an alcoholic was perfect..Andy Garcia.......well.......i have no words to describe his performance. Husband's should be like this........ (in real life.....a man can't have more patience than Garcia's's character if he was in this kind of situation.If someone wants to see reality in movies......this is a good choice.