Silver Linings Playbook

[MacGuffin]

Release date: November 21, 2012

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawerence, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker

Directed by: David O. Russell

Premise: After spending four years in a mental institution, a former teacher moves back in with his mother and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife.

[Reel]

Man, I'm really not liking the looks of this. And seeing Bradley Cooper reminded me- he's another one of the most boring actors.

[polkablues]

You know who would have been better than Bradley Cooper in this?  Literally any mid-30s actor in Hollywood.  And I'm including Paul Walker.

That said, I still love Jennifer Lawrence.

That said, it really feels like David O'Russell is coasting.

That said, The Head and The Heart was a good music choice for the trailer.

That said, this is the sort of movie that people will have forgotten existed in a few years, like "Catch and Release" or "The Alamo".

[Pubrick]

That said, this is the sort of movie that people will have forgotten existed in a few years, like "Catch and Release" or "The Alamo".

Or almost any movie Robert sleepwalking deniro has made in the last 15 years.
At this point if he agrees to be in your movie you shouldn't be honoured you should be insulted.

[RegularKarate]

Why am I the only one interested in this? Agreed about Bradley Snoozer, but I liked some of the dialog and the chemistry seemed interesting in the trailer.

[InTylerWeTrust]

Why am I the only one interested in this? Agreed about Bradley Snoozer, but I liked some of the dialog and the chemistry seemed interesting in the trailer.

Meh... It just feels like another crappy David O. Russell movie. "3 Kings" was great, the fighter was alright but that's it. De niro reprises his "I'm the old man in the movie" role and Bradley Cooper does another one of his half-assed performances.

The only reason I would go watch this is Jennifer Lawrence *Drools*.

[Reel]

"3 Kings" was great, the fighter was alright but that's it.

No, that's not it. Spanking the Monkey and I <3 Huckabees are great, too. I think O. Russel must've had a serious breakdown on the set of  Huckabees as evident in that youtube video and probably isn't trusted by studios to go for his more audacious projects from now on.

[InTylerWeTrust]

"3 Kings" was great, the fighter was alright but that's it.

No, that's not it. Spanking the Monkey and I <3 Huckabees are great, too. I think O. Russel must've had a serious breakdown on the set of  Huckabees as evident in that youtube video and probably isn't trusted by studios to go for his more audacious projects from now on.

I just saw I <3 Huckabees like 2 weeks ago. I thought everyone gave a great performance (specially Walhberg, Watts and Jude law) and the movie was funny and it made me think a couple times. But it's not the kind of movie I would call "great" or would I ever watch it again. But to each his own, bro.

On second thought, THE FIGHTER was more than alright! Bale's performance was amazing and I think Amy Adams should've gotten the oscar over melissa leo.

Haven't seen "SPANKING THE MONKEY", let me check it out...

[Reel]

I just saw I <3 Huckabees like 2 weeks ago. I thought everyone gave a great performance (specially Walhberg, Watts and Jude law) and the movie was funny and it made me think a couple times. But it's not the kind of movie I would call "great" or would I ever watch it again. But to each his own, bro.


Haven't seen "SPANKING THE MONKEY", let me check it out...

well, neither of these movies have the raw, visceral feel of Three Kings, but they dove into issues that I'd never seen portrayed on film before, at least at the time. I've seen them both several times and will again several times more, and knowing that is all that really qualifies a movie being 'great' TO ME.

definitely see Spanking the Monkey..then call your mother and tell her how much you love her.

[modage]

Mental illness is not the subject most filmmakers would choose to set a romantic dramedy but most filmmakers are not David O. Russell ("The Fighter," "Three Kings"). Winner of the Audience Award at TIFF (a distinction previously held by "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King's Speech"), "Silver Linings Playbook" is a crowd-pleaser in a way that only O. Russell could have made one. Bradley Cooper stars as Pat Solitano, a guy with extreme anger issues and diagnosed bi-polar disorder whose issues led to the dissolution of his marriage after a violent incident where he caught his wife during an infidelity. As we meet Pat he's being released from a mental institution in Baltimore and returns to live temporarily with his parents (Robert DeNiro and Jackie Weaver) until he can get his life back together. Pat is determined to get his outbursts under control and is absolutely driven by this idea that if he can 'fix' all these things about himself, his wife will have to forgive him. He takes up an intense workout regimen and to try to channel his energy and loses weight but can't keep his emotions in check.

Pat's freakouts, it turns out, can be spurned on not just by hearing his and his wife's song (which in a cruel irony was playing when he found her with another man), but also by innocuous things like Ernest Hemingway novels. While out on one of his epic jogs Pat runs into Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a similarly damaged young woman, who after the death of her husband ended up sleeping with half of her office to cope with the depression. Despite their kindred natures, Pat can only focus on getting back together with his wife. After a contentious back-and-forth, Tiffany agrees to pass her a note from him (bypassing the restraining order) explaining his progress if Pat will agree to be her partner in a dance contest. (Yes, seriously.) What happens from there is probably pretty easily telegraphed but what sets it apart is how well it works. Cooper and Lawrence are both at their best here and unlike so many romcom's where a once volatile pairing eventually warm to each other, this romance feels earned.

Parallels are also drawn from Pat's father's obsessive sports watching habits to his own less societally acceptable compulsions. Russell seems to be channeling a "Broadcast News"-era James L. Brooks here and the result is as offbeat as it is endearing. Perhaps its just me projecting but the subject matter feels very personal for O. Russell. Though adapted from a novel by Matthew Quick, as someone who's had his own share of public outbursts you can see what attracted the writer/director to the material. Particularly in the first act of the film, Pat's outbursts were more abrasive than comedic because I didn't feel comfortable laughing at someone who can't help himself. Where another director might have leaned on the character's violent outbursts for moments of comedy, leaving the audience at a safe remove from the effects of the disease but O. Russell dives right in and as the film went along I realized it was that uneasy tone that made the film work. With "The Fighter" and this film it's great to see an auteur reminding us of how well these familiar tropes can work when they're employed properly.

[Kal]

I thought this was great. Crowd pleaser, yes. Predictable, yes. Still, it was funny, emotional, well written, entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised with Bradley Cooper's acting. He was great in it. Jennifer Lawrence was amazing. Even Chris Tucker nailed it. I wasn't into this at all when I first watched the trailer, and then seeing some good reviews made me curious. I liked it a lot.

[RegularKarate]

I liked it.
It shouldn't have been as good as it was. If I had just read the screenplay, I would have skipped it.
I think it falls apart at the end, but really enjoyable until then.

[pete]

I liked it a lot. Just because a movie ends happy doesn't mean it's predictable. Great acting. I didn't know who jennifer lawrence was but she killed it.

[RegularKarate]

SPOILERS

Just because a movie ends happy doesn't mean it's predictable.

I agree, but come on, this one was pretty predictable and cliched. It's like an eighties movie where you know he's meant to be with this girl the whole time and you know that he's going to realize it at the end. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but it was hella predictable.

[pete]

SPOILER BUT COME ON NOT REALLY

I hated the two kissing scenes. they felt out of character. but I think most onscreen kisses are pretty terrible. the girl looked older and acted older and held her own all the way until the kiss.