Movie vs Reality: Permanent Midnight
By Felix Quinonez Jr.
January 10, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
In each entry of this column I’m going to be looking at a different movie “based on a true story” or whatever phrasing is attached to it and compare it to the actual story. Hopefully I’ll be able to separate fact from Hollywood. But I’m also going to be talking about what those changes mean and why they were made. Do the changes have some artistic merit or are they just attempts to make the story fit into a neat Hollywood package?
Whether looking at the work of Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs or countless others, it seems that drug use has had a recurring role in the history of literature. Whatever their particular motivations, many writers have turned to drugs throughout their careers and writer Jerry Stahl is among them.
At one point Stahl, who has written novels and for the screen, had a very expensive and dangerous drug habit. His most well known work is his 1995 memoir Permanent Midnight. The book was adapted into a movie - with the same title - in 1998. It was directed by David Veloz and it stars Ben Stiller. The movie received middling reviews - it sits at a 59 % fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes - and it didn’t do much better commercially. In its entire domestic run, it grossed a little over $1 million.
What the Movie Got Right
Although the movie does not touch on Jerry’s early life too much, we do learn that Stahl grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and that his father had been a federal judge before committing suicide.
After losing his father, Jerry moved to Pottstown and eventually he attended Columbia University. After doing some traveling, he moved to New York to become a writer. His career did not immediately take off and he did some small writing jobs. One of his jobs was writing fiction for a porn magazine. Not long after this Jerry moves to Los Angeles to help his writing career. Unfortunately once there he takes up with an old friend, Nicky (Owen Wilson) and his drug problem becomes even bigger.
Nicky and his girlfriend Vola (Lourdes Benedicto) convince Jerry to marry Lola’s friend Sandra. (Elizabeth Hurley) Sandra needs to obtain a green card so she pays Jerry $3,000 and they get married. But even though it is a marriage of convenience, Sandra begins developing feelings for Jerry and soon they move in together. Initially the reason for them moving together is that it would help her immigration process, but they wind up having a baby.
Sandra, who works in television, manages to get Jerry a writing job for a popular series called Mr. Chompers. He uses his personal experiences to help with his writing and his own father’s suicide inspires an episode of Mr. Chompers. Jerry’s writing is very well received and he starts making a lot of money. Unfortunately, he spends all of it on drugs.
For a while, Jerry is able to manage his drug addiction and his work but eventually no one can continue ignoring the fact that he is a junkie and he gets fired. With Sandra’s help he is able to get an interview to write for another show. Jerry blows the interview but the star of the show, who is a recovering addict, wants to give him a chance provided that he gets clean first.
Jerry starts on a rehab program but winds up meeting a drug dealer in the parking lot and relapses before he can even quit. This costs him his new job. Back at home he learns that Sandra is pregnant but he ruins the occasion by shooting up. This clearly puts a strain on their relationship and things get a lot worse when Jerry gets high before attending the birth of their daughter.
Things hit rock bottom a couple of months later when a desperate Sandra asks Jerry to babysit their daughter. He accepts the responsibility but winds up getting high with the baby in the passenger seat. Later on in the night he gets pulled over and the cops call protective services.
Eventually Jerry decides to take getting clean more seriously and we see him trying to make amends with Sandra. He also tries to have a more active role in his daughter’s life. The movie then shows Jerry trying to revive his writing career and going on various talk shows.
What the Movie Got Wrong
Although the movie does a pretty faithful job of adapting Stahl’s story, like most movies it does take some liberties. The one most obvious deviation from the truth is the name change of one of the shows Jerry wrote for. He had some success writing for Alf but in the movie it’s referred to as Mr. Chompers. The puppet’s signature brown look is also changed to green.
It is also quite clear that some instances are dramatized for effect. During a party scene Jerry - who locks himself in the bathroom - begins to hallucinate that Mr. Chompers is trying to barge through the door. Jerry then bursts into the party like a maniac. Although there is more than likely at least some truth to that scene, iy was clearly molded to provide some comic relief.
The scene in which Jerry gets high with his baby in the car and later pulled over by the cops was clearly filtered through the lens of Hollywood. Also, at the beginning of the movie, Jerry meets a former junkie named Kitty. (Maria Bello) The two of them go to a motel where they hook up. After having sex, Jerry begins to tell her his life story. There is no doubt that this encounter and their relationship was molded to be used as the framing device for the movie. As they get to know each other and he reveals more about himself, a flashback is triggered for the viewer.
Verdict
Permanent Midnight is a very entertaining and at times powerful movie. It’s too bad that it is so sloppily structured and the aforementioned framing device is a bit contrived. Had the movie been told in a straightforward fashion it might have been even more engaging.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out. The movie is bold and entertaining and for the most part it is brave enough to show an honest representation of a drug addict. And Ben Stiller gives a great performance that alone makes the movie worthwhile.
Next Time: Hollywoodland