When a Man Loves a Woman is a 1994 American romantic drama film directed by Luis Mandoki and written by Al Franken and Ronald Bass.

Though she is lighthearted and loving, Alice is often reckless and, when drunk, even neglects her children: nine-year-old Jess from a previous marriage, and four-year-old Casey, whose father is Michael.

Michael finds himself now the main caregiver of their home and children, a role he struggles to maintain along with his career as an airline pilot, as well as fighting with Amy and driving her out of the house.

He has become used to being the stable and responsible one in their relationship and appropriately feels neglected by Alice's newly established and highly prioritized outside friendships.

Initially shy, Michael becomes a more vocal member of the group and shares his sorrow over his lack of understanding for the gravity his wife's sobriety would have on him, his children, and his marriage.

The site's consensus states: "When a Man Loves a Woman delves into the complex dynamics of a marriage shadowed by addiction, aided by strong performances from Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan.

"[5] He praised the acting of Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia, and Lauren Tom, and said one of the film's strengths is "it isn't just about Alice's recovery.

"[5] James Berardinelli said that the "ending is too facile", and that its "occasional didactic tendencies are its weakness", but concluded "the script does a good enough job establishing the dynamics of the Green family that we never doubt that the story deserves to be told.

"[6] Berardinelli also gave praise to the performances of Tina Majorino and Mae Whitman, and argued that seeing the characters of Alice and Michael through the children's eyes helps elevate the story.

[6] David Denby of New York Magazine called the film an "earnest and highly prolonged counseling disappointment" and a "pushy therapeutic exercise" which, although intelligent, features "endless talk, a stunted mise en scène, and a moral atmosphere of dogged and literal-minded persistence" which "overvalues its own sobriety".

[7] In a 2012 review for Bitch magazine, Christen McCurdy wrote, "It’s a rare film that begins its story in the middle of a relationship, and whose happy ending does not depend on one character’s white-hot epiphany and subsequent breathless confession (though we get something like that in the final scene).