Smashed (2012)

Smashed is a 2012 American drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Ponsoldt and Susan Burke, and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul. Winstead and Paul play a married couple, Kate and Charlie Hannah, both alcoholics. After a series of embarrassing incidents caused by her drinking habit, Kate decides to get sober with the help of a coworker and a sponsor from Alcoholics Anonymous.

The script was partly based on Burke's own experience of giving up alcohol at a young age, since she felt that her narrative had not yet been told on film. She and Ponsoldt wrote the script over six months, and the main roles were cast in September 2011. The film's US$500,000 budget was financed by independent investors including Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf. It was shot in Los Angeles in October 2011. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2012 and was released by Sony Pictures Classics on October 12, 2012. It grossed $499,000 at the box office and received mostly positive reviews from critics. Numerous critics, including Roger Ebert, Peter Travers and Mick LaSalle, praised Winstead's acting in the film. She was nominated for several awards for her performance.

Synopsis

Kate Hannah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an elementary school teacher, arrives at work hungover and vomits in front of her class. Asked by a student if she is pregnant, she pretends she is, then continues the lie to the school principal, Mrs. Barnes (Megan Mullally). Her co-worker Dave (Nick Offerman) reveals that he knows she has been drinking and she makes him swear not to tell anyone.

Actors