Permanent Midnight

Permanent Midnight is as enveloping as it is darkly cautionary, thanks to the effectively varied layers of Mr. Veloz's direction and the bitter intensity Mr. Stiller brings to his central role. Read full review

The movie gets credit for not making the high life seem colorful or funny. It is not. It is boring, because when the drugs are there they simply clear the pain and allow the mind to focus on getting more drugs. Read full review

Despite some small narrative flaws, though, Stiller alone is reason to keep watching. It's a brave, scary and antic tour de force from a performer who, over the past few years, has been slowly banging his head against the glass wall of typecasting. In Permanent Midnight, the clown finally shatters the barrier and comes out the other side an actor. Read full review

The harrowing scenes of Stahl's drug abuse and strung-out aftermaths are dulled by Stiller's quips, while the laughs stick in our throats because of sheer embarrassment for Stahl's character. By trying to have it both ways, Veloz does full service to neither. [09 Oct 1998, p.8]

Permanent Midnight is a slick, entertaining, show-biz saga whose worst fault may be that it has a happy ending. Stahl has not only recovered from debauchery, he's making a ton of cash with his book and the movie. In fact, this may be as quintessential a morality tale for the nineties as the Monica Lewinsky story. [25 Sep 1998, p.D9]

While the tail end of the film does receive cheap laughs, it really does ruin a very emotional end to a rollercoaster ride that is, after all, a man’s tragic life. In fact, if it were not for this tacked on, sleazy wrap-up, the film would have garnered an even higher rating. Do not let this fact dissuade you from seeing this film. It is well written, well acted and extremely engrossing. Just find out exactly when the film ends and leave about five minutes before and you will be very satisfied. Read full review

Permanent Midnight might have been somewhat smoother if it had been framed by the talk-show sequences. The motel scenes with Kitty could have been dropped in favor of scenes that would have offered a deeper sense of Jerry's arrangement with his wife. But the movie touches something real. By the end of Permanent Midnight, you almost feel that you do know someone like Jerry Stahl. [25 Sep 1998, p.23]

Ben Stiller seems the perfect actor to play Hollywood writer- turned-junkie Jerry Stahl in Permanent Midnight. He's got that bitter humor, the intense eyes betraying an inner life of pain. And he comes off as pathetic. The trouble is that it's hard to care -- even though the film is well-acted, artfully shot and at times haunting in its bleakness. Read full review

The movie, lacking snap and sarcasm, fails to convey the book's tone. [16 Sep 1998, p.3D]

The cast is uniformly good. In the end, though, as Stiller's Stahl does the rounds of the talk shows, plugging his book and his newfound sobriety, Permanent Midnight fails to deliver a true story of redemption, of someone who has come through the dark side and conquered his demons. The guy is still feeling sorry for himself, and the residue of narcissism - the lifeblood of the entertainment industry - is caked all over the place. [18 Sep 1998, p.03]

The problem with most movies about junkies is that they're really not about anything but getting high, crashing and screwing up. The problem with most movies about writers is that they can't demonstrate a writer's talent. Put the two together and you've got Permanent Midnight. [18 Sep 1998, p.H6]