| Director | Mike Nichols |
|---|---|
| Budget | $22 million |
| Box office | $63.4 million |
Actress Suzanne Vale is chewed out on set by director Lowell Kolchek for messing up her lines at the end of a long take. He blames this on her being coked up, especially as they are close to finishing a film. Shortly afterwards, producer Jack Faulkner wakes next to Suzanne, then rushes her to the hospital as she is unresponsive.
After they determine Suzanne suffered a drug overdose, she is admitted to a rehab center at the behest of her mother, veteran actress Doris Mann. She wakes confused, with no memory of what happened nor that her stomach had been pumped. Told the most common cause of overdosing is depression, Suzanne insists she is not suicidal.
Doris is late to the family group session. Suzanne acts happy to see her, but before long the tension she feels towards her attention-greedy mother surfaces. Dr. Frankenthal, who had treated her in the ER, sends her flowers.
Suzanne must rebuild her acting career and life after overcoming her cocaine and Percodan addiction. When she is ready to return to work, her agent Marty Weiner informs her that the studio's insurance policy will cover her only if she lives with a "responsible" individual—such as her mother Doris. However, Suzanne is hesitant to return to her manipulative, self-absorbed mother, from whom she has struggled to escape since growing up in her shadow.
Shortly after arriving on set to a new, low-budget film, a producer introduces himself and warns Suzanne she will be regularly tested for drugs on set for the insurance company. At the end of the day, Doris collects her, hurrying her home for a surprise party. Suzanne is persuaded to sing, but her mother follows to recapture the spotlight.
On set on her second day, yet another producer speaks to Suzanne to critique her acting. Later, she overhears the director Simon apologizing to wardrobe, for her being out of shape. He had also made comments to Suzanne about her performance on her first day. Again, a different producer gives her unwanted feedback, so she requests Simon be her sole communicator on set.
Jack runs into Suzanne on set as she is leaving, convincing her to kiss him. Later, he picks her up at home, taking her for a drive and confesses his love for her. However, Suzanne's euphoria is short-lived when she discovers that Jack is also sleeping with another actress from the film.
Meanwhile, Doris reveals that Suzanne's sleazy business manager, Marty Wiener, has absconded with all her money. Afterwards, Suzanne acknowledges she sees her mother as an alcoholic, admitting her own addictions started back then when her father left. She then points out that Doris gave her sleeping pills from age nine.
On her way to the studio to do looping in the post-production of the Lowell Kolchek film, Suzanne takes some pills from Doris' medicine cabinet, but stops on the way to throw them up. Amid these struggles, Suzanne learns that the paternalistic director Lowell Kolchek has more work for her as long as she stays sober.
However, Suzanne's troubles escalate when she discovers that her mother has crashed her car while drunk. Suzanne rushes to her bedside and they have a heart-to-heart conversation while Suzanne fixes her makeup and conceals her nearly bald head with a scarf. Doris musters her courage and faces the waiting media. Meanwhile, Suzanne runs into Dr. Frankenthal again, who invites her to see a film. Suzanne declines, saying she is not ready to date yet, but he tells her he is willing to wait.
Suzanne performs a country song during shooting of Lowell Kolchek's latest film.