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Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan, Lauren Tom, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tina Majorino ... see more see more... , Ellen Burstyn , Mae Whitman , Eugene Roche , La Tanya Richardson , Richard Bradford , Steven Brill , James Courtney , Joe Drago , William Frankfather , Ellen Geer , Brandis Kemp , Gail Strickland , Bari K. Willerford , Ronald Bass , Garth Craven , Al Franken , Andrew Magarian , Tony Montero , Cathy Sandrich , Amanda Mackey-Johnson , Susanna Thompson

A dramatic treatment of a family torn apart by alcoholism and recovering from it, this was a star vehicle for popular actress Meg Ryan, who plays Alice Green, a school counselor who has a serious drin... read more read more...king problem. Her husband is Michael (Andy Garcia), an airline pilot. Though she's lighthearted and loving, Alice is often reckless and, when drunk, even neglects her children, nine-year-old daughter Jess (Tina Majorino) from a previous marriage, and four-year-old daughter Casey (Mae Whitman), whose father is Michael. After an accident, Alice realizes that she has "hit bottom" and goes into a clinic for rehab. When she returns home, she has kicked her addiction and has become independent and strong, and her perfectionist, controlling husband has trouble adjusting. Michael is used to his wife being weak and helpless, and they end up seeing a marriage counselor to recover from Michael's "co-dependency" on Alice's role as an alcoholic. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Flixster Users

76% liked it

40,295 ratings

Critics

70% liked it

20 critics

R, 2 hr. 4 min.

Directed by: Luis Mandoki

Release Date: April 29, 1994

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DVD Release Date: February 15, 2000

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Stats: 1,498 reviews

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Meg Ryan in When Man Loves A Woman When a Man Loves a Woman When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) this is just the simple "me"
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Flixster Reviews (1,498)

  • jennifxu
    April 20, 2012
    jennifxu
    Meg Ryan really freaked me out in a hot-mess kind of way.
  • erika250
    August 5, 2011
    erika250
    not good acting
    plot was lacking.
    too slow and to serious.
  • SajinPA
    May 24, 2011
    SajinPA
    MegRyan continues to be one of my favourite actresses and this movie is proof why. Andy Garcia also excelled as a loyal husband helping his wife get through her troubles.
  • BEACHBUNNI
    April 9, 2011
    BEACHBUNNI
    Michael and Alice Green (Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan) appear to be the perfect " yuppie" couple. They live in a cozy home and have two lovely young daughters. Theyre passionate about their jobs (hes an airline pilot, shes a junior high guidance counselor) and after five years of m... read morearriage, they still look at each other with the sexy adoration of high school sweethearts but Alice has a dirty little secret she drinks....from the moment she gets up.

    When her addiction is discovered, she goes into detox, and the movie becomes the story of how her agonizing recovery tears apart a family that was never what it seemed in the first place.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 19, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Through the good times. Through the bad times. When a Man Loves a Woman it should be for all times. I was very touched by this Movie.
  • thmtsang
    March 24, 2008
    thmtsang
    Need lots of tissues as this movie is so sad about a drunk mother.
  • garyX
    May 7, 2007
    garyX
    Been there, done that! A soapy drama about Andy Garcia dealing with his drunk of a wife. I found it superficial, hackneyed and judgmental.
  • deano
    January 4, 2007
    deano
    Great drama-romance of Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan with a story of fiery passion and the enduring power of love.
  • crazydannielle16
    March 6, 2009
    crazydannielle16
    This was a very personal one for me. Not since high school when I saw â??The Quiet Roomâ?? have I lost it emotionally when watching a movie. This one affected me so deeply that I bawled like a baby. It brought back a lot of painful memories. Itâ??s a story about a family torn apa... read morert by alcoholism and the love that keeps them knitted together.
  • xxdebxx
    August 6, 2011
    xxdebxx
    In this movie `Alice` Meg Ryan plays a psychologically troubled housewife who has a taste for alcohol. Her character isn't a very likeable person. She drinks, slaps her kids, drives drunk with her kids in the car, completely forgets about her kids while she's out on drinking bing... read morees... putting her children and her husband through a living hell. She goes into therapy and overcomes her problems, but now it is the man who has to try to live with a woman who's no longer the same one he once married. The first half of this film was ok, but once Alice was out of the clinic, it becomes a little more than a husband and wife having marital problems and the alcoholism becomes a side issue.

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Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy
June 18, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Meg Ryan gives a solid peformance in this flawed melodrama about alcoholics Full Review

Clint Morris
November 18, 2003
Clint Morris, Moviehole

There won't be a dry eye in the house. Just sublime.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
August 20, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Salutes the inner work that must be done to keep alive the sacred dimensions of love and commitment. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Leonard Klady
March 26, 2009
Leonard Klady, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

April 12, 2002
Globe and Mail

Click to read the article Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

No review available.

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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    • Michael Green: My wife is an alcoholic. Best person I ever met. She has 600 different smiles. They can light up your life. They can make you laugh out loud, just like that. They can even make you cry, just like that. That's just with her smiles. You'd have to see her with her kids. You'd have to see how they look at her, when she's not looking. To think of all the things she lives through, and I couldn't help her.
    • Alice Green: It's horrifying how much you can hate yourself for being low and weak and he couldn't save me from that. So I turned it on him; I tried to empty it onto him. But there was always more, you know. When he tried to help I told him that he made me feel small and worthless. But nobody makes us feel that, we do that for ourselves. I shut him out because I knew if he ever really saw who I was inside, that he wouldn't love me. And we're separated now, he's moved away, and it was so hard not to beg him to stay. And I don't know if I'm going to get a second chance but I have to believe. That I deserve one. Because we all do.
    • Alice Green: I think I could love you again if you could, for once, say 'I don't know.'
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When a Man Loves a Woman Trivia

  • How much alcohol did Meg Ryan drink a day? And what kind did she drink? In "When a Man Loves a Woman" ?  Answer »
  • In the movie "When a Man Loves a Woman" who plays the part of an alcoholic and Andy Garcia's wife?  Answer »
  • Name the movie in which Andy Garcia plays the husband of an alcoholic?  Answer »
  • What film has this tag line : What love built , a secret can destroy ?  Answer »
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