''Self Medicated'' is a 2005 independent film based on real-life events from writer/director/lead actor Monty Lapica about Andrew, a troubled teenager whose mother has him

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically ...

at age 17 by a private company and forcibly committed to a locked-down psychiatric institute. Monty Lapica was not originally cast for acting in the film, according to the subsequent documentary, ''The Making of Self-Medicated'' (2007), the first-time writer and director was also slated to play the starring role in his own life story after casting-calls failed to produce a suitable candidate.

Plot

On the edges of Las Vegas, 17-year-old Andrew's life is spiraling out of control. Unable to cope with the loss of his father, Andrew's descent into drugs and violence is gaining momentum, and the once promising young man is now headed for self-destruction. Andrew's mother, helpless to control her son and fighting an addiction of her own, refuses to watch idly as her only child destroys himself. As a last resort, she hires a private company to forcibly kidnap and confine him in a locked-down and corrupt psychiatric hospital. As Andrew is subjected to the secret physical and emotional abuses of the program something inside him is re-awakened. He must somehow get free to save what's left of his life, but to do that, he knows he must first face his own demons head-on.

Cast

* Monty Lapica as Andrew Eriksen *

Diane Venora Diane Venora is an American stage, television and film actress. She graduated from the Juilliard School in 1977 and made her film debut in 1981 opposite Albert Finney in '' Wolfen''. She won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Support ...

as Louise Eriksen * Michael Bowen as Dan Jones *

Greg Germann Gregory Andrew Germann ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American actor who is known for playing Richard Fish on the television series '' Ally McBeal'', which earned him a Screen Actors Guild award. He also is known for his roles as Eric "Rico" ...

as Keith McCauley

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, ''Self-Medicated'' has a score of 37% based on 38 reviews. The critics’ consensus reads, "''Self-Medicated'' features some nice performances, but is too sentimental and unfocused to be a truly compelling film." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' said there was "a raw, unmannered intensity in Lapica's performance sets the requisite tone for the entire production. Self- Medicated is just what the doctor ordered.", and ''Variety'' said the film was "a searing portrait of an out-of-control youth . . . strong acting from all quarters and an especially blistering performance from Lapica. Packs a startling punch!" After complimenting the musical score by Anthony Marinelli and cinematography by Denis Maloney, Jeannette Catsoulis writes for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "When the institutional 'abuses' promised in the press notes fail to materialize (unless you count enforced standing and essay writing), the story becomes a monotonous loop of escape and recapture."

Release

The film was theatrically released on August 31, 2007 in 15 markets, including

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Austin, and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

Awards

The film has toured the festival circuit extensively, collecting 39 awards. * Rome Independent Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize — 2006 * Australian International Film Festival – Best Feature Film & Best Actress (Diane Venora) * Angel Award — Best Motion Picture — 2007 * PRISM Award Winner — 2006 * WorldFest International Film Festival – Gold Remi Award — 2006 * Phoenix Film Festival – Sundance Channel Audience Award & Best Ensemble (Cast) — 2006 * Berkeley Film Festival – Grand Festival Award — 2006 * Memphis International Film Festival – Jury Award — 2006 * Tahoe/Reno International Film Festival – Best Spotlight Feature (Festival Prize) — 2005 *

Newport Beach International Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival be ...

– Best First Feature (Breakthrough Award) — 2006 * San Luis Obispo International Film Festival – Best Feature — 2006 * Zion International Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize * Santa Fe Film Festival – Best of the Southwest — 2005 * Tiburon International Film Festival – Best Actor (Monty Lapica) — 2006 * DIY Film Festival – Best Feature & Best Director — 2006 * George Lindsey UNA Film Festival – Professional Feature (Monty Lapica and Tommy Bell) — 2006 * Cosmos International Film Festival – Best Feature * Flint International Film Festival – Competition Jury Prize * Twin Rivers Film Festival – Feature Film Award * Zoie Film Festival – Best Feature Film — 2006 * Big Island Film Festival – Best Feature & Up-And-Coming Filmmaker Award — 2006 * Santa Clarita Film Festival – Best Feature & Fuji Best Feature Shot on Film — 2006 * Lake Arrowhead Film Festival – Best Feature — 2006 * Trenton International Film Festival – Best Screenplay — 2006 * BridgeFest Film Festival Canada – Best Feature * Staten Island Film Festival – Best New Filmmaker * Estes Park Film Festival – Best Feature & Audience Award *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...

/ Mike Agassi Foundation – Inspiration Award * New York VisionFest – Best Feature & Best Actor (Monty Lapica) & Best Editing — 2006 * Charlotte Film Festival – Audience Award — 2006

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, self_medicated 2005 films 2005 drama films American independent films 2005 independent films Films scored by Anthony Marinelli 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Films about juvenile delinquency Teen drama films