TV JUNKIE was, by far, the most painful film I have ever seen. However, having had a relative die from an overdose, I can assure you this film was if nothing else ACCURATE. Rick's loss of control to crack, in lieu of all the talents and achievements he had, is a tragedy. His ability to finally conquer it left me quietly cheering for him!
shareI am a drug addict....what most call a recovering addict for the last twenty years. From the time I was about twelve years old I did drugs. Around fifteen years old I was a full blown addict.
I had to force myself to finish watching "TV Junkie" because it was so painful. I am not even sure why I finished watching it for either. I guess because I was with my wife and did not want to go through the whole "why not finish it" thing.
I think Rick was selfish and a butthead without drugs but most of us drug addict are selfish. You may have noticed he started out seeming more or less selfish and a drug user. After a while of drugs he kept being selfish but an element of insanity was added to the mix. The scean with his kids, wife and cops highlited the deepths of the insanity. About the time he lost his last job you can see how it was really the first time he took anything about his drug use serious.
As silly as it may seem to the normal person for most of us addicts it takes some personal disaster to see the truth about ourselves. Some people never ever seem to reach that personal disaster stage and live on skid row or they die or get locked up before they reach it.
My advice is if you are an ex (recovering) addict who had to hit the personal disaster stage don't watch this show. If you are a using addict you can watch this show because you will say you're not like that. If you're a clean non-using person who wants to get a taste of how crazy addiction can be this is a "don't miss".
For me watching this film was like watching a full length video of a death of a close friend. Almost made me want to go get high ;-( uuuuggggggg
Just my off the cuff thoughts......
Johnny Cash
Hurt Lyrics
[Originally by Nine Inch Nails]
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hold
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
[Chorus:]
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
[Chorus:]
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way