Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite negative results. On Cinema host Tim Heidecker's alcohol abuse is one of his many potential health issues. His ex-wife Toni Newman has also had her own battles fighting addiction both on and off the show.

Frequently during On Cinema Oscar Specials, Tim will heavily partake in champagne. During the 1st Annual On Cinema Oscar Special, Tim became more and more inebriated throughout the night, prone to random giggling, staring off into space, and eventually dozing off. Eventually, a producer, most likely Andrew Porter, asked Tim to switch to drinking Coke instead. However, Tim quickly began spiking his Coke, and a bottle of water, with the champagne. He later apologized for his behavior, stating that the champagne “got the best” of him. Answering a viewer question of “how drunk are you, scale of 1 to 10”, Tim responded that he was at a “10, it's the drunkest that I've ever been.” He speculated that television hosts of similar events must drink ginger ale instead of champagne, and then threw up on a crate of tapes Gregg Turkington had brought in for his Oscar Video Classics segment. He also stated that some of the guests at the Oscars “have the same problem that I do.”

Acknowledging he did “get out of hand” the year earlier, for the 2nd Annual On Cinema Oscar Special Tim purchased organic champagne for the special, which he believed meant that it was non-alcoholic. He also stated that he had not had a drink in the year since the previous special. He planned to only have two drinks during the night, one at the start of the show, and one when The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug would win Best Picture. He later decided that he would have more than two drinks that night.

Tim has also been seen drinking alcohol outside of the Oscar Specials. During Podcast Episode 38: "All That Jazz", Tim mentioned having free wine at a jazz event, and appeared to be intoxicated while recording.

Over the course of Season 12, Toni was in a rehab center getting help for her addiction. Following the death of her son Matt, she relapsed during the 11th Annual On Cinema Oscar Special.

• Gregg Turkington also had champagne during the 1st Annual On Cinema Oscar Special, stating it was only the second time he had ever had it.