Addicted (2014)

You won't be disappointed!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Trigger Warning: Rape sceneBefore 50 Shades of Grey was synonymous with mainstream erotica, there was the author Zane. Someone who wrote erotic books featuring Black characters and even had a soft-core porn series if I recall right. Though with it being a long time since Zane's name was big, and with Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor still being fresh enough to remember, does Addicted prove itself to be the best, as well as the original, or did all Zane do is open the door as bigger and better productions got through?Characters & StoryZoe (Sharon Leal) has a lot going for her in life: She has a gorgeous husband, named Jason (Boris Kodjoe); two beautiful kids; a mother, Nina (Maria Howell), who lives with them and allows her and her husband to work full-time, and pull in extra hours; and she has her own business. One which, thanks to her marketing expertise, and best friend Brina (Emayatzy Corinealdi), is quite the success. Well, at least until famous artist Quinton Canosa (William Levy) comes in. From meeting him, to being alone with him in his studio, something awakens in her which creates this desire to have sex. Something she tries to fix with a woman named Dr. Spencer (Tasha Smith), but the ecstasy, and other things, are too good to just give up. Leading you to wonder if perhaps Zoe may be able to have it all, or whether her secrets will destroy all she has worked and fought so hard for.PraiseBeing that I went to see this movie with a Black majority audience, naturally, there was talking throughout the movie and damn if I didn't want to join them. For truly the stuff which happens in the film will have you wanting to mumble something under your breath. Whether it is because of the things Zoe gets into while on a downward spiral; the things Quinton does around, or to, her; or even just waiting for anyone, whether it is Jason or Nina, to catch her; you will easily get caught up in the moment and want to throw your own two cents in there.CriticismWhile the book for Addicted came before Tyler Perry's movie, oddly enough his film was overall more entertaining. If just because Leal as Zoe has this Olivia Pope vibe and Brina very much seems like a gladiator. And with probably the most interesting thing about this film being the sex scenes, or the moments before Zoe initiates sex, it makes you wonder if any thought was really put into making Jason interesting, or even making Zoe's 2nd sex partner Corey (Tyson Beckford) more than someone she just meets in the club? For while I get that the focus is on Zoe, at times I felt like there was a stronger need to show how guilty she felt and why. For while it is understood her husband is attractive and good to the kids, I feel the stuff we saw in TP's Temptation gave us reason to root for the relationship seen on screen. As for Addicted, to me, Zoe and Jason at best just came off like two attractive actors mashed together, due to name recognition, who represented two people who had babies and have sex every now and then.Overall: TV ViewingIt is sort of sad that, in the grand scheme of things, you could make the argument TP may have been inspired by Zane's work when it comes to him creating Temptation. However, like with The Maze Runner, while you may see the film was inspired, in the long run, there is this sense that only what worked, and was good, was taken before the film went to find its own voice. Now, as for Addicted, being that the sex addiction angle isn't made to be that interesting, since more so it seemed Zoe was bored in her marriage than a sex addict, I must admit while I was laughing at what my fellow theater goers were saying, and thought they made interesting points, I think this movie would have been a lot more dull without their commentary. Hence the TV Viewing label for truly the comments made throughout the film I think are what made this not something to skip. For while no performance was bad, and the sex I'm sure will get some hot and bothered, the story just didn't explore any character enough for me to feel like I should be invested. And, in the long run, I feel that sex was used to compensate for a weak story.Things To NoteI have no idea who Diamond (Kat Graham) was supposed to be in this movie. Was she Quinton's live in lover, assistant, or what?When it comes to nudity, you'll mostly be seeing buttocks more than breast or anything else.

I read the book years ago. I recently heard that it was made into a movie and felt that I HAD to see it. I re-read the book (in 2 days) and watched the movie the following day so that all the details were fresh in my head.The movie is similar to the book but not enough like it. In the book she had 3 kids, and put her family above all, whereas in the Movie she only had 2 children which she neglected regularly. And her business did NOT struggle in the book, when she did go through hard time, she always appointed someone to handle things. She mentioned several times in the book how she needed to go home and cook dinner for her family, but in the movie she couldn't even make it to sports games?? They also skipped all the drama with her lovers ex girlfriend and what happened to her romantic fling with the female. They also completely eliminated their entire childhood story which was like 10 chapters in the book. Their childhood was part of what makes you fall in love with the characters.In addition, her Best Friend Brina was a Train Wreck in the book but was holding her down in the Movie and you couldn't really tell that she was her Best friend. We only know that because Brina stated it in conversation. They never did anything together in the movie. With that being said, there was No Brina Drama either. And for ANYONE who read the book, you know that is a big deal.The last thing I will say is that, in the movie they turned her into a scared women. In the book she was so edgy and ready to (smack a hoe), at the drop of a dime. She had one heck of a temper in the book. Yelp, not in the movie.All in All, I hated the movie because I know what it SHOULD have been like. If I had not read the book than I guess it would have been OK (6/10), but still not great.

I watched this on DVD from my public library. Based on the title it tells a story that could be any addiction - drugs, alcohol, sex - and the main protagonist goes through the various phases. And there is a ray of hope at the end.Sharon Leal, 40-ish, is Zoe Reynard and has formed her own company, "Zoe and Company", to represent and find financial opportunities for artists. She apparently is good at it but the one time we see her approaching a new client she is rather passive. Maybe because she was attracted to him.Indeed he romances her and agrees to be represented mainly because he wants her. She in turn has developed a sex addiction and although she has a great family and loves her husband, she cannot control her lustful desires.This drama plays out more like a "B" movie, especially during the last half hour or so. It is interesting but not too memorable.Boris Kodjoe is good as the architect husband Jason Reynard.

Addicted is essentially an uneven facade that in one instance, poses as softcore porn and in another instance, becomes a documented, public service announcement for sex addiction. It's a slick, trashy, yet mildly entertaining soap opera of a movie that unbeknownst to me, goes completely off the rails in its final half hour.Directed by the guy who made Honey (2003) and Beauty Shop (2005) and based on a best selling novel of the same name, Addicted is like a carbon copy of 2002's Unfaithful. But where Unfaithful had a murder and a sored cover-up to that murder, this limited October release has a silly, kill-free twist at the end (I'm not gonna count a failed suicide as murder in case you're keeping score). It also has many more love scenes in it than Unfaithful not to mention a main character that ends up having more than just one affair.The story begins with stunning, happily married businesswoman Zoe Reynard (played by Sharon Leal). She has the perfect life. She has two great kids, a husband who thinks the world of her, a loving, caring mother who lives with her (and is quite tolerable), and a beautiful home via the outskirts of Atlanta, GA. But wait a minute, her perfect husband isn't fulfilling her everyday needs (sexually that is). He's never around and is always working. Her solution: have a series of romantic trysts with a well revered painter (Quinton Canosa played by William Levy) and a womanizing club hopper (Corey played with minimal dialogue by Tyson Beckford). This leads to her addiction by which she literally ruins her career, fractures her family values, is forced to see a shrink, and decides in anguish, to (spoiler alert) commit freeway suicide. As mentioned earlier, Addicted walks a fine line between glamorizing sexuality and reiterating a certain sickness. As a result, the proceedings are choppy and disjointed despite a surprisingly good level of unpredictability.Really in truth, this vehicle is almost saved by Sharon Leal. She gives a solid, realistically grim performance in the lead role as Addicted's disturbed test subject. As for the rest of the cast, they are comprised of mostly good looking people who's acting is not as seething or as sharp. In conclusion, this is a poster child for the effects of sex addiction and to be honest, it's not really about infidelity. Addicted in its 106 minute running time, makes two mistakes: it turns a character (Levy's Canosa) who doesn't really seem menacing enough, and makes him psychotic. The second mistake is that this thing climbs too close to becoming a therapeutic healing session for a specific audience (people that go to support groups for sex addiction or don't bother to get help at all for said addiction). And as the plot thickens, it feels less like an actual film going experience and more like a hidden cry for help. Bottom line: Addicted as a drama/thriller, may offer a certain kind of appeal. But for me, it just wasn't that "addicting".