Smashed
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: October 12, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottFeb 1, 2013
For appreciators of fine acting, it's a film well worth seeing, as well as one worth toasting - if only with ginger ale. Read full review
80
EmpireJames WhiteDec 10, 2012
The sharp ends in Smashed are here for all to see, and Ponsoldt never shies away from their spiky, thought-provoking effect. Yet he also finds grace and warmth in the story. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsDec 7, 2012
There will never be another Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor, but Hollywood may have found a new Lee Remick in Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Read full review
60
Total FilmJames MottramNov 25, 2012
Two fine performances - particularly from an unhinged Winstead - almost elevate Smashed to greatness. But an under-worked script leaves you feeling groggy and bleary-eyed by the end. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 21, 2012
It's a familiar, straightforward story, carried from start to finish by Winstead, who makes Kate an interesting study in contradictions. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenNov 7, 2012
Smashed may be better at preaching to the choir and is likely to find its largest audience among struggling 12-steppers. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyOct 25, 2012
If you had to be an alcoholic, you'd want to be like Kate, the young drunk played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the new movie Smashed. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 25, 2012
Everyone in the film is good. Offerman and Megan Mullally (as the principal at Kate's school) do well in more-dramatic roles than we're used to seeing them in. Mary Kay Place is harrowing without meaning to be as Kate's mother. [25 Oct 2012]
63
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisOct 25, 2012
The most interesting thing about Smashed is the way Kate, the movie's alcoholic schoolteacher, never looks drunk - at least, not the way drunk people do in the movies. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 19, 2012
Smashed never really rises much above the level of a dramatic public service announcement. That's not so much because of its tone, but because what it's announcing isn't exactly news. Alcoholism is a disease. Alcoholics aren't bad people. Quitting is hard. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezOct 19, 2012
Director James Ponsoldt, who co-wrote the script with Susan Burke (inspired in part by her own experiences), opts for realism and modesty instead of sensation. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 18, 2012
Director James Ponsoldt knows what his job is here. He keeps the camera on his lead actress and doesn't cut away. For Winstead, Smashed is the doorway to great things. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 18, 2012
Feels different from most recovering-train-wreck stories. The movie is a tidy relaying of a messy situation involving two reasonably functional middle-class LA alcoholics, one of whom gets serious about cleaning up a lot sooner than the other. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 17, 2012
This is a serious movie about drinking but not a depressing one. You notice that in the way it handles Charlie (Aaron Paul), Kate's husband. He is also her drinking buddy. When two alcoholics are married, they value each other's company because they know they can expect forgiveness and understanding, while a civilian might not choose to share their typical days. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris CabinOct 12, 2012
Smashed touches on the awkward perversity that often comes from seemingly pure emotions and intentions, and turns a noticeable, if slightly analytical, eye toward the selfish hurt and narcissistic projections inflicted by the perceived moral hierarchy against recovering addicts. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigOct 12, 2012
Smashed is quietly affecting, though sometimes difficult to sit through. The saving grace is Winstead's smashing performance. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 12, 2012
The movie has some powerful moments, but it's mostly superficial. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenOct 12, 2012
Winstead, who appears in nearly every scene, can be compelling but, like the material, often pushes too hard, especially in Kate's climactic dive off the wagon. In a far more limited role, Paul is lower-key and convincing. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 12, 2012
Winstead and director James Ponsoldt add something gripping and modern to the cinema of recovery, a well-mined genre that can still, it seems, yield thoughtful surprises. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenOct 12, 2012
The degree to which Smashed refuses to indulge a voyeuristic taste for the kind of sordid details exploited by reality television amounts to an unspoken declaration of principle. In lieu of self-pity, Smashed substitutes tough love. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle SmithOct 11, 2012
There needs to be a 12-step program for movie people to stop sharing their "deeply personal" yet insight-free stories of addiction. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 11, 2012
Don't forget Winstead when making a list of the year's Best Actress contenders. Yes, she's that good. Read full review
75
NPRScott TobiasOct 11, 2012
The truthfulness of Winstead's performance - and those of her co-stars, too - has a steadying influence on James Ponsoldt's modest drama, which at times seems in danger of failing a sobriety test. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnOct 11, 2012
Winstead's performance provides a trenchant wakeup call even when the movie can't keep pace. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinOct 10, 2012
In spite of the out-of-place pregnancy subplot, Smashed is a film of pummeling intensity and bruised emotions. Read full review
90
Village VoiceMichael NordineOct 9, 2012
Movies about drugs and alcohol might be a dime (bag) a dozen, but James Ponsoldt's Smashed is so beautifully shot and well acted as to transcend the genre. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 9, 2012
To be sure, the film as a whole feels like a creaky vehicle, belabored with plot strands and stereotypes that only serve to highlight Winstead's ragged commitment to something real. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumOct 3, 2012
What's new about the unsensationalized portrait of one-day-at-a-time progress (and setbacks) is the low-key energy of this drunks' tale, by and for a generation with a high tolerance for humor and a low tolerance for soapiness. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazineMark KeizerOct 2, 2012
Alcoholic movie characters run the gamut from lovable millionaire (Arthur) to Skid Row bum (Henry Chinaski from Barfly) to all-out, suicidal depressive (Ben from Leaving Las Vegas). As written and performed, Winstead's Kate triangulates between all these approaches and finds a sincerity that plays to the intellect, not to the rafters. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthySep 29, 2012
Its sharp writing and essential credibility make this small, intimate tale fresh and involving. Read full review
100
The PlaylistJames RocchiSep 29, 2012
Ponsoldt, Paul and Winstead make a remarkably effective team for this film's points and purposes, and Smashed burns long after it goes down smoothly. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin ChangSep 29, 2012
A terrific performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a rock-bottom alcoholic is only one reason to appreciate Smashed, an affecting and immersive addiction drama about the unforeseen pitfalls along the road to recovery. Read full review
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