Once upon a time it appeared that Tulley (Anthony LaPaglia) had a glittering future mapped out ahead of him. The son of a successful writer, his early literary efforts suggested he would easily follow in his father's prestigious footsteps. Then the booze got him. A slave to the bottle and the bar, Tulley spends his daylight hours counting down the clock in an interminable office job. His coworker and best friend Levine (Eric Stoltz) is a keen companion in the pursuit of alcohol, frequently propping up the bar next to Tulley in the duo's local watering hole, where the sound of the HAPPY HOUR bell is like music to the patrons' ears. But Tulley's life is irretrievably altered one fateful night, when schoolteacher Natalie (Caroleen Feeney) settles down snuggly at the bar, and comfortably matches him drink-for-drink. A love affair begins, and Natalie attempts to coerce Tulley back into writing. Levine tries to explain the futility of such a pursuit, but when Tulley is delivered some shocking news from his doctor, he grasps hold of his addiction and endeavors to overcome it. As he sinks deeper into the abyss of ill health, Tulley enters into a breathless race with the Grim Reaper in order to belatedly fulfill his literary promise.
This cinematic study of a hapless alcoholic is so convincing that it's a wonder the celluloid doesn't ooze alcohol from its reels. The coterie of heavy drinkers portrayed by Stoltz, Feeney, and LaPaglia are disturbingly believable, and the movie stands as a fine testament to LaPaglia's skills in particular. Director Mike Bencivenga wonderfully recreates the ambience of New York City's less salacious nightspots, presenting a sad portrait of a man for whom the glass is always half empty.
