Louis Theroux: Drinking to Oblivion

Watching that man's gut, full of fluid, get drained was enough to make me not want to drink for at least a few hours.

Devastating from beginning to end, with each of the interviewees acting as examples of the different path-ways that any alcoholic could end up as. This results in a multifaceted view on different alcoholics and their different levels of self-hatred -- some wallow in it, some are more accepting of it, but they are all very open about their problem, which makes this a very important documentary on addiction that certainly does not end on a hopeless note.

This is me but with Louis Theroux documentaries. "COME ON BABY JUST ONE MORE , I'LL MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD" "Yes but why do we want that" and so on

This is one of my favorite Theroux docs, mostly because he DOES get involved in the lives of his subjects and becomes part of the film taking on the role of a friend & counselor, which is something he clearly doesn't feel comfortable with, but it works. To me, this interaction is what sets him apart from the rest. He's able to form amazing bonds with his forthright personality and extract important details that other documentarians don't know how to do. Also, a must see for every alcoholic.

The ability and tragic willingness of some people to drink themselves to death raises problems of responsibility that one health professional refers to several times as "tricky".

Just mostly depressing. I'm not a pothead, but the movie really drives the point home how ridiculous it is that alcohol (for some reason) is socially acceptable while marijuana has been demonized for decades

This one is real rough. I'm liking where Theroux is going but i don't think I'll be able to handle it. Maybe the Scientology movie will be a move back to the lighter stuff.

As usual, Theroux has some pretty interesting conversations with some pretty interesting people. The key takeaway this time is how inefficient the treatment of alcoholics is. Rather than treating the undiagnosed personality disorders, anxiety disorders or depression often causing it, patients instead walk in and out of hospitals for costly treatments to their bodies and organs, only to come back a little while later because of said underlying issue.

Louis chats to a few alcoholics at different stages of their lives and addiction, all requiring medical care for one reason or another. We hear everyone's sob stories and they (mostly) come across as decent enough people, but haven't we seen this all before in countless similar documentaries on the subject? Theroux is always easy to watch but the lack of focus and originality means you actually gain very little from the programme. That French girl's "boyfriend" seems a catch...

Good one, the warm, caring response from Louis a stark contrast to the bullshit Liberal rights/responsibilities conditionality from that nurse, a grim glimpse into the NHS's privatised future.