Adam (Ruffalo) is a sex addict, but he’s following the program one day at a time. He prays, he avoids temptation by living like a monk and is highly dependent on his sponsor Mike (Robbins) Neil (Gad) is a young doctor who is court ordered to attend sex addiction meetings and even though his sponsor, Adam, is so strong he can’t seem to control himself and is coming apart at the seams. Mike is the rock of the group, he leads from the front and he seems like a balanced man. Nevertheless, when his addict son returns after a stint in prison his life is quickly complicated by the baggage his family are carrying. The interdependency that exists between the three men is the glue that holds them together and as the strain increases the relationships are put to the test.”
Sex Addiction is a serious subject. 2011’s Shame gave the subject matter the gravity it deserved and one wonders who in their right mind thought this would be a good idea for a rom com, because it simply isn’t funny.
Leaving the subject matter behind let’s consider the cast. Ruffalo is a decent actor and he is good in the role particularly when it gets a little heavier. The same goes for Robbins who is a reliable old bugger and doesn’t drop the ball even when faced with a pretty crappy script. Josh Gad was good in Love and Other Drugs and he does a decent job as an out of control young doctor. Gwyneth Paltrow is okay as the obsessive fitness junkie but she does very little in al honesty. The addition of Alecia Moore (Pink) to the cast is a mistake and they have her sing just in case you weren’t aware she’s a musician.
Despite the cast appearing to do their best with the material they simply can’t make it funny. Not one single laugh. It also doesn’t help that there is so much going on within each thread as it clunks between the different stories only really bringing them together towards the end. To make things worse the score is boring and uninventive with Billy Bragg’s Tender Comrade closing out the movie, which is just plain lazy.
It fails to be funny no matter how hard it tries and it never feels like it addresses the subject matter with nearly enough seriousness. Don’t waste your time.