Sex addiction and group therapy may not seem like laughing matters, but Thanks for Sharing attempts to buck the angsty trend. In Stuart Blumberg’s hands, the emotional turmoil experienced by three men in various stages of recovery is served up alongside a rejuvenating dose of comedy.

After his Oscar nominated success with The Kids are All Right, writer and now first-time director Blumberg has reunited with Mark Ruffalo and assembled a cracking ensemble cast, which includes Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow, and a surprisingly touching performance from rock chick Pink (as Alecia Moore). Josh Gad, who impressed as Steve Wozniak in Jobs, is again in scene-stealing form as an emergency-room doctor with a serious case of denial.

Together Blumberg and his cast lift the slogan-heavy vocabulary of group therapy above stultifying cliché, and instead craft an engaging portrait of support and companionship. However the film doesn’t manage to avoid plot contrivances that see all the players conveniently descend into crisis, before the redemptive 12-step program can be resumed. Yet in doing so Blumberg manages to highlight both the gallows humour and the human frailty that lurk behind therapeutic words of wisdom. And those are truths worth sharing.

Thanks for Sharing opens in theatres...