Thanks for Sharing

The sex addicts depicted on-screen in Thanks for Sharing are forced to confront various inner struggles in a screenplay that itself is conflicted.

With equal parts comedy and drama, this examination of the struggles of addicts to suppress their addictive tendencies and pursue relationships is both earnest and heartfelt.

Yet while the dialogue generally feels authentic, the scenarios are more contrived, which tends to trivialize these afflictions rather than elicit the intended sympathy for them. In other words, it’s an ensemble piece with some powerful showcase moments for each character that never resonates as a whole.

It follows three intertwining stories of characters in various stages of recovery. Adam (Mark Ruffalo) thinks he has found a return to normalcy when he begins dating a cancer-surviving triathlete (Gwyneth Paltrow), but he is afraid to reveal the truth for fear the relationship will sour.

Adam’s sponsor in his group sessions is Mike (Tim Robbins), whose adherence to self-help programs hasn’t addressed his alcoholism and residual anger issues involving his son (Patrick Fugit), an ex-junkie trying to repair the fragile relationship between the two dating back to his childhood.

Then there’s Neil (Josh Gad), an overweight and insecure medical technician whose approach to curbing thoughts of sex — avoiding the many triggers in an urban environment — meets with mixed results. However, he strikes up a friendship with a fellow addict (pop singer Alecia Moore) that calms things down.

The film marks the directorial debut for screenwriter Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right), and it’s easy to see why the talented cast was attracted to the material. There are scattered moments of hilarity and poignancy for almost everyone involved.

The uneven script offers a detailed depiction of recovery groups without passing judgment on their effectiveness or lack thereof. It chronicles the meetings, the steps to recovery, and perhaps most of all the loyal network of dependence that is formed between addicts and called upon during potential times of relapse.

Still, the film settles into a more predictable pattern in the second half, when each of its three stories plays out an inevitable conflict that causes their demons to manifest themselves in melodramatic ways before allowing for a chance at redemption.

Thanks for Sharing wants to convey the serious nature of addiction in a lighthearted way, with those efforts more commendable than the execution.

Rated R, 112 minutes.