All of this provides an acting showcase for Cheadle and particularly Sandler. Cheadle, not surprisingly, is as good as ever as a man who tries to help his friend back on his feet without potentially alienating his wife, Janeane (Jada Pinkett Smith) and his kids in the process. Sandler, on the other hand, has finally found the role to express his true dramatic talent. There has always been a streak of hostility and self-destructiveness in Sandler’s comedic roles, and with movies like Punch Drunk Love and now this one, he shows that he can portray damaged souls as well as anyone.

Unfortunately, Binder has not yet gotten rid of his urge to insert a smarmy character to overstuff his film with unnecessary dramatic conflict and some absurd comedy (as he did in The Upside of Anger where he himself played that role). In this film, it is a peculiar character played by Saffron Burrows who inexplicably comes on to Alan and every time she appears on screen, the story grinds to a dead halt and caves into shameless contrivance, even marring the ending a bit. There are some mildly amusing awkward moments with her as the story goes on, but in a film where everything about the two men’s friendship and Sandler’s healing feels so genuine, her character’s very presence, no matter how well the role is acted, is superfluous.

In the end, however, the movie’s basic message comes through strong and clear, which is the need to humble oneself first before actually beginning the process of healing. Of course, some will say that that sounds sentimental and that any “reasonable” person in the film would just turn someone like Charlie to the mental hospital immediately. This movie asks us to walk a little in Charlie’s shoes before being quick to judge.

Bottom line: Well worth seeing.