Permanent Midnight Movie Review 1998

Stiller stars as TV writer Jerry Stahl in this film version of his 1995 autobiography, which follows his plunge from a guy who has it all to a loser junkie who's as unlikable as this movie itself. At its real-life peak, Stahl's heroine habit reached $6,000 a week. There are some great flashes of dark humor--Jerry is obsessed with exercising and eating right even while pumping himself full of drugs--and some truly horrific sequences (at one low point, Stahl both scores and shoots up with his baby daughter by his side). The problem is that we don't care. Stiller's comic timing makes most of the bleak jokes work, and it's the only thing that makes the movie bearable; however, his brooding performance (possibly due to writer/director Veloz) lacks any charisma. Watch for Stahl himself as a pessimistic doctor at a methadone clinic.

Distribution

Artisan Entertainment, 2700 Colorado Ave., Ste. 200, Santa Monica, CA 90404, Phone: (310)449-9200, Fax: (310)255-3730, URL: http://www.artisanent.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 85 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Showbiz Dramas, Biopics: Showbiz, L.A., Drug Use & Abuse, Black Comedy, Flashback, Screen Teams: Stiller & O. Wilson

Screenplay

David Veloz

Cast

Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Hurley, Maria Bello, Owen C. Wilson, Lourdes Benedicto, Peter Greene, Cheryl Ladd, Fred Willard, Charles Fleischer, Janeane Garofalo, Jerry Stahl

Cinematography

Robert Yeoman

Director

David Veloz

Music

Daniel Licht