It stars Ben Stiller, Maria Bello, Elizabeth Hurley, Owen Wilson, Cheryl Ladd and Janeane Garofalo.

Permanent Midnight grossed only $1.1 million in limited theatrical release in the United States, but performed better in the home video market.

Approaching the end of a drug rehabilitation program, Jerry Stahl quits his job at a fast food restaurant on an impulse when an attractive woman named Kitty pulls up at the drive-through window.

Sandra finds him a new job with a different series, No Such Luck, whose star Pamela Verlaine–herself a recovering addict–sternly but sympathetically insists that he kick his habit first.

As soon as Jerry starts on a methadone program, he runs across a dealer named Gus, who introduces him to crack cocaine and later Dilaudid.

His increased drug use costs him his new job, and Sandra throws him out, disgusted at his decision to shoot up when she tells him she is pregnant.

In the final scene, Jerry appears on a series of talk shows and news programs, while commenting in voice-over about the damage that his addiction has done to his life.

Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote, "As Stahl, Stiller turns in what could easily be the finest performance of a career that, up to now, was devoted mostly to playing an interesting but lightweight assortment of dweebs...this arresting performance, which lurches from buzzing mania to nodding stupor, from glib lies to tongue-tied inarticulateness, is a breakthrough for the talented actor.

"[10] In a three-star review, Roger Ebert wrote, "The movie gets credit for not making the high life seem colorful or funny.