Reviews

Mahmoud falls acting alone but the entire cast is superb. Without giving anything away in detail about the series I just want to say that it's very true to life. I have a brother who was schizophrenic and died several years ago, I come from a poor background with a battering father, and I've lost just about everyone in my life who ever was close to me. Emotions that come through on the screen and the characterizations of each person are beautifully written, directed, and acted. A previous reviewer wondered if the reason Mark Ruffalo could show such sadness was because maybe Mark Ruffalo was really that sad. And all I could say in response to that is to look into Mark's brother, Scott.

Darrell Hammond's story of a survivor of childhood trauma really resonated with me.

I like how he says, "I won. But I hobble." That pretty much sums up how it feels as we get older and live with our childhood trauma. It's not a matter of stuffing it away, or crying it out, or forgetting about it.

Being hurt by the very people we thought were there to protect us causes the brain to rewire, to try to make sense of what is happening.

This film is so powerful, moving, and sometimes funny, Darrell is a comedian.

We hear about some of the specific events that happened to him and can only imagine others. We learn how he lived with it, coped with it and has come to terms with it. He talks about medications, doctors, and his personal demons.

It brought me to tears.

A few of the more memorable lines from "Cracked UP"

"If you want to stay alive you have to come up with something." "You have to forgive yourself for the way you tried to take care of yourself." "To wake up one morning and bot be scared, wow." "Your disrespecting me devastate me. But -- is the world gonna end?"