Alcohol consumption


Is it just me? I'm baffled at the alcohol consumption of the characters in this show, which doesn't seem too distant from the excesses shown in Mad Men.

But The Good Wife is not a period piece set in the 1960s (like Mad Men is), and yet Alicia is always drinking wine after work, Kalinda is downing Tequila like there's no tomorrow, while Will and Diane have always a bottle of booze ready in their offices.

Is that a realistic depiction of alcohol consumption in the 21st century? I'm wondering...

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Yeah. I am a real ass lawyer. It has to do with a high stress high power job with lots of monies involved there is always boozxe to be passed around good

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I am a real ass lawyer.

Of course you are, dear. Like I am Kublai Khan and still in office.

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I am not a lawyer but I do have several on my staff. A bit different in that we investigate they support. Having said that they are all top shelf all fairly young except for one fedeeral prosecutor and their alchohol consumption is no higher than anyone else. That is to say,
They attend functions, drink responsiblity and act like adults. They are stressed but it kind of irritates me that people Inrespect are dumped in to your weird comments.

I know it won't change anything but I feel better.

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I'm glad to see it's not just me. I never drink alcohol myself (everything tastes awful and makes me throw up almost immediately), but I've never been comfortable with the way they were all boozing it up constantly, on the show.

Alicia's huge glasses of wine were no doubt to anaesthetize her brain so she could forget what a depressing mess her life was. She should have just done something to fix it instead.

Kalinda's tequila was supposed to make her seem tough and badass, when if she drank too much of it, it would sure make her less effective.

Will and Diane were always "celebrating" with more booze -- but I tell ya, if I was in the reception area waiting for an appointment with my lawyer, and saw him/her hoisting a glass of booze during office hours, I'd sure be wondering how effective my representation was going to be.

It's sad that people are so casual and accepting of alcohol, though, when it poisons brain cells and dulls senses. It does nobody any good, and often does a lot of harm.

I used to work in court, and there was hardly ever a divorce or an assault or just some stupid misdemeanour in which someone had not impaired their common sense with booze at some point. Not a good idea at all......

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Your comment reeks of judgement. just because you dont like the taste, and apparently, "vomit" from, doesnt mean everyone who enjoys alcohol has a problem. grow up.

When Diane and Will are having their celebratory drinks, it is usually at night. These moments were few and far between and I'm sure that their receptionists would have told them about their appointments. Its not like their clients would ever barge into their offices.

I hardly see how your "experience" in court and observation of divorces, assaults and misdemeanors equates to any of the characters in the show. Color me blind but I never saw a scene where Alicia hit her kids, attacked a client, missed work or any of her husband's political events due to drinking.

Your preconceived notion that there was "hardly ever" a matter in the courts you worked in is incredibly and overtly generalized to the point that someone who claims to work in the justice system is really only laughable.

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I actually am a real lawyer so I know. I didn't say hardly ever!

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Your preconceived notion that there was "hardly ever" a matter in the courts you worked in is incredibly and overtly generalized
Evidently you have no clue what a "preconceived notion" would be. I wasn't preconceiving anything. I was simply commenting on what I observed every day, and day after day. There it was.

When does consuming liquor ever do any GOOD? Do you have any idea how often it does HARM instead? Very often, by the looks of it.

And do you know how many innocent people are killed every year because some idiot tried to drive home when he/she was impaired by alcohol? Morons like that should have their driver's licences yanked permanently, so that they are taking the bus for the rest of their lives -- after they've served a good long sentence in jail, of course.

But it's obvious from the indignant tone of your reply that you're someone who likes a regular snootful yourself. It's just sad that that's the best you can do with your life.

Frankly, I think they should bring back prohibition and make it work this time.

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When has any type of prohibition ever worked? It doesn't. Humans are subject to varying degrees of stress, and different people explore different ways to deal with it. With regard to poor food/drink/drug choices, public education + treatment -- not prohibition -- is the answer. For ex., public education about the ills of smoking has resulted in a significant drop in tobacco use.

I agree with some of what you've written -- that drugs (including alcohol) tend to be disinhibitors, and sometimes disinhibitors lead to impulsive, harmful behavior.

But the real problem is a world lacking in social justice -- a world full of *unnecessary*, added-on stressors, such as poverty, unequal opportunity, hatred for no good reason and subsequent discrimination. If you want a world where people are content and getting along with one another and behaving well, then fight for social justice. Take the risks of peace.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

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I used to work in court, and there was hardly ever a divorce or an assault or just some stupid misdemeanour in which someone had not impaired their common sense with booze at some point.

This would mean that the prevalence of booze consumption in the show was fairly realistic, no? Hm. I thought that drinking like that would be universally frowned upon.

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This would mean that the prevalence of booze consumption in the show was fairly realistic, no?
Sadly, I think it was.
I thought that drinking like that would be universally frowned upon.
I always think it should be, and it certainly is by people like me.

Unfortunately, what seems to be universal is the idea that pickling your brain with booze is seen as being a good idea, and even FUN to do.

I can't believe the number of people who talk about how DRUNK they've been, like it's something they're proud of, as if it was some kind of achievement -- rather than an indicator that they lack self-control and actually think it's clever to do stupid things.

If you've ever been completely sober in the company of someone who is plastered, it really doesn't look clever at all. And when they get into fights and throw up, I often think it's too bad that hangovers aren't a lot more painful.

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I first of all am sorry for responding to a 2 month old thread (though I'm not entirely sure what the standard is on imdb about this)
Second, I agree with most of your post. However (because I don't want to say 'but') some alc beverages can taste really good. There's a huge difference between being a social drinker and an addict. For me, I barely drink when I'm home. I live by myself, I enjoy a good glass of red wine, but I hardly drink at home. Maybe once or twice a year I drink wine with some pasta I made but that;s about it. But when I go out I drink plenty. Not proud of that, it's just too much an okay thing I guess to drink. Sometimes I do wish everything would just be illegal because I would never cross illegal boundaries to get what I want, but as long as stuff is legal then who's the real hypocrite?

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I first of all am sorry for responding to a 2 month old thread (though I'm not entirely sure what the standard is on imdb about this)
As long as a thread is still up, you can still reply to it. Now that the show is over, though, not as many people will see it now. (I still pop in every day to see what's new.)

I'm somewhat biased against booze. Two sips of anything seem to make me throw up and fall down, which isn't fun for me. (It's maybe even some kind of allergy.)

Also, I used to work in the courts, and I saw an awful lot of the damage that had been caused when foolish people's brains were impaired by alcohol. I don't think it ever does anybody any good.

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Maybe you need to go live in the Middle East or Utah. Your ideology doesn't really fit with the west. For as much as alcohol is a part of American culture, we pale in comparison to how much alcohol is involved in the European culture. And our country was basically founded while hungover.

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I HAVE lived in the Middle East, and it was sure nice not to have sloppy drunks on the streets, getting into stupid fights, and puking.....

I've also lived in Europe, where it was rare to see anybody who was drunk. They just know how to handle it much better than people do over here.

I keep overhearing people who are old enough to know better, actually BRAGGING about how drunk they were last night -- like they somehow imagine that it was an ACHIEVEMENT of some sort, when it was no such thing. They should be ashamed of themselves.

And don't get me started on drunk drivers. I think the punishment for that should be MUCH more severe, and they should be taking the bus for the rest of their lives. And if they kill somebody while plastered, they should go to jail forever.

Somehow, people think "Well, I was drunk" is an excuse. No, it's not. It just adds to the crime, because it means they were stupid, too.

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I always thought that this is an American or British thing, this coming home and first thing to do drinking some booze. I am from Europe and you don't see this casual drinking in our films or series (not that alcohol consumption is better or worse here).
Good that someone mentions this here because it is really over the top in this show, makes no sense because no one seems to have a health issue with it or other kind of problem, just this casual way like a life-style thing.
Not o.k. in my opinion.

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It would be nice if you wouldn't categorize Europe as a country.I don't feel like the Union has made us one big happy monotonous family. Some country's has a very liberal agenda and some are liberated. If you see that specific difference. I hope you leave room for individual culture difference. May it be alcohol consumption or other differences in lifestyles.

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I was speaking about one particular thing in American films that I don't see in European films. If you like it better than I say in German, Scandinavian or French films because I don't know any other.

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I felt the alcohol consumption was pronounced, too, though not anywhere near Mad Men levels (i.e. no pregnant drinkers, liquid lunches, or blackouts). I think the writers and producers meant us to notice it as a form of abuse. ***SPOILER**Alicia even confesses to Jason in Season 7 that she is drinking too much and Jason gently helps her to ease off.

At the same time, as other posters have said, the law is a stressful occupation (way more stressful, I imagine, than advertising), and people drink to relieve stress. It would have been unrealistic to show only people sipping champagne at a holiday party. Also, these are highly competent, competitive, and focused people who would mostly limit their consumption to what would allow them to still have their wits about them if needed. There was at least one episode early on when Alicia had had one too many at a bar with someone and was called in on a case late at night and embarrassed herself. You never see that happen with Will or Diane, though they like their scotch.

There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people. – G.K. Chesterton

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I think ou are drastically overstating the amount of booze they drink. I have 2 more episodes in season 1 and there is nothing close to Kalinda (who I dislike btw) downing tequila lime there is no tomorrow. You seem to have a biased or immature ideal of alchohol intake. Adults drink- there is abusive levels and addiction levels of drinking I have not witnessed that in the show.

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I just started watching and noticed how thirsty these lawyers seem to be. Their livers should be hard as a rock by the time this series ends.

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It's not just this show.

A lot of shows have characters drinking but being functional.

Just think of Modern Family's Claire, her husband and kids make fun of her wine consumption yet she is a functional adult able to be a productive driving parent, although pretty sure she completes a bottle a night.

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Darn you, now I'm going to have to pay attention to the show in order to see it for myself! 😄

At least I hear lawyers have the excuse of having very little free time despite having a high-paying career once successful.

~~/o/

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Who are these lawyer fooling.
Booze. You know they are all on cocaine.
LOL.

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Considering its professional white collar, I was thinking marijuana, myself, what with all of them hippies becoming yuppies later in life.

~~/o/

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