Film Review: We All Think We’re Special (2021)

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SYNOPSIS:

In this haunting drama, a night of reckless drinking compels a car mechanic to forcibly detox his best friend – whatever the cost.

REVIEW:

Directed by Kirby Voss and written by Felicia Stallard and Kirby Voss.

The film opens with Charlie (Jared Bankens) and Ed (William McGovern) … These two are intoxicated. They are also swimming and chilling in the hit tub. Water and intoxication don’t mix. They are drunk and having a blast.

The next morning, or afternoon, Charlie is trying to help Ed with a hangover cure.

I don’t want to preach or go off on some tangent about alcohol and drugs. I’ve been in some bad situations in my own life. I’ve also dealt with people who drink and they turn into a completely different person. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The either get really mean, real deal evil, and violent or they are funny or start crying. I’ve heard the phrase, “you can’t have fun without a drink”.

I guess it depends on the person. Meanwhile back to the movie… Charlie is attempting to cook and he’s intoxicated again, Ed is puking his guts out in the bathroom. A lawyer shows up, Duncan (Sophie Marie White). The lawyer wants Charlie to move out of his mom’s house.

Duncan is trying to tell Charlie why he can’t live in the house but Charlie doesn’t want to hear it. Jared Bankens is doing a good job playing Charlie. We don’t really talk about things that happen. Drugs, alcohol, and the horrible aspects that go along with all of these things.

Ed walks Duncan to the car, and they have a conversation. Duncan tries to convince Ed to convince Charlie he needs to stop all of this, and leave the house. His mother left the house to A.A. Meanwhile, the smell of Charlie’s cooking is too much for Ed and he’s puking in the bathtub now. OH LORD, WHY!

It takes a lot to gross me out, like a lot but puking is just… It hurts. Charlie is still drinking, more like making Vodka smoothies. The house looks like a tornado went through it. Ed is trying to remember what happened. Charlie is drinking and taking a shower. When you can drink and shower, that’s a new level.

Ed decides to clean house as Charlie showers. He’s dumping booze, hiding booze. Charlie’s response to everything Ed says with, “you’re not my mom”. Ed decides to have an intervention for Charlie. Charlie delivers a monologue about why he’s fine while he drinks. Ed doesn’t want to hear it. He wants to help Charlie.

It’s hard to help someone when they don’t want help. It’s also hard to help someone when they won’t say, hey I want to change. It’s like the opioid crisis. Ed gets Charlie to detox. Detox is said to be the worst feeling ever for both an alcoholic and an addict.

They often don’t know what to do with themselves and it’s hard to hide the sweating, pain, and shakes. There is so much more. Charlie checks the entire house for all the alcohol and Charlie tries to tell him that he didn’t get rid of all of it.

The painstaking body aches and nail biting are horrible for Charlie. While another day is gone, Ed falls asleep and Charlie wakes up and begins to search the house. He’s looking for alcohol.

Charlie’s withdrawal is bad. It’s hitting him hard. In his quest for alcohol, Ed wakes up, and Charlie spews his thoughts out.  “I’ll find booze before you find God”. What a quote, that feels like a punch to the gut because that’s a crazy true statement.

It’s good versus evil, the Id, the ego, and so on. Twenty years of friendship leads Ed to a paintball battle in the woods with Charlie. The house is a great character. It’s another one of those houses that stands out and holds secrets from years of characters inhabiting it.

Charlie is coming to the 48-hour margin of detox. This is said to be wicked, painful, and everything isn’t what it seems. The dialogue is meaningful. Charlie starts to purge memories. Young Charlie at eight years old played by Gavin Lyle Foley takes his first drink.

It’s part of that trauma and childhood stuff that so many people keep in. Charlie found the medical alcohol in the bathroom. People sometimes forget about these, mouth wash and isopropyl alcohol. An interesting turn of events happens. We find out more about Ed and Charlie. We also meet Sherri (Sherri Marina).

We All Think We’re Special shows how intense it can be to detox. It shows that there is a demon or something lingering inside a person struggling with alcohol or drugs. Something that can’t quite be fixed in a day but you have to try, you have to keep going. Jared Bankens gives this heartfelt, heartbreaking performance with William McGovern’s character Ed helping him along.

I would recommend checking out We All Think We’re Special.