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04/23/09
Self-Medicated (2007)
35
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:12
Rotten:22
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Self-Medicated features some nice performances, but is too sentimental and unfocused to be a truly compelling film.
Synopsis: In this indie drama, a mother (Diane Venora, THE INSIDER) resorts to desperate measures to save her teenage son (Monty Lapica) from his addiction to drugs. Lapica makes his acting, screenwriting,... [More]
Starring: Diane Venora, Monty Lapica, Michael Bowen, Greg Germann
Director: Monty Lapica
Reviews for Self-Medicated
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01/18/08
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09/08/07
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09/06/07
A more seasoned writer would steer clear of false, assembly-line contrivances.
09/05/07
It’s just horrible stuff.
09/04/07
Top CriticIt's a personal story that feels like it's been constructed from other movies.
09/01/07
There are nice touches, particularly in Venora's performance and Timothy Kendall's editing, but the film's maudlin edge illustrates the dangers of directing your own material.
08/31/07
It's just a little too simplistic and not a very compelling story.
08/31/07
Though the script and storytelling could have used more polish, Lapica's honesty provides the lasting impression.
08/31/07
Monty Lapica's Self-Medicated is a powerful, personal piece of independent filmmaking
08/31/07
As it stands, the film is more often self-absorbed than self-aware.
08/31/07
Lapica's lack of distance from his story is both the film's strength and its weakness.
08/31/07
Note to fledgling directors: when making a movie, you don't have to do everything yourself. In fact, you probably shouldn't.
08/31/07
Self-Medicated must have been cathartic for writer-director-producer-star Monty Lapica to make, but its therapeutic value for audiences is questionable.
08/31/07
Top CriticHeartfelt it clearly is. Disciplined and focused on what's truly intriguing about the story, not so much.
08/31/07
On the basis of this film, Monty Lapica, at 24, has a career ahead of him as a director, an actor or both. He also has a life ahead of him, which the film does a great deal to make clear.
08/31/07
Top CriticThe movie slides toward melodrama with some stale business about the hero spreading his late father's ashes and an embarrassing sequence in which a homeless man washes Lapica's car, delivers a benediction, and magically disappears.
08/31/07
It’s a precocious performance, although one with melodramatic moments that prevent Lapica from entirely dispelling the specter of vanity self-casting.
08/31/07
Lapica's debut impresses with its strong, clear voice and desire to tell a very personal story not just of substance abuse but of that abuse's painful root cause.
08/31/07
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