Every year Harvey Weinstein sells his soul to promote an indie movie that ends up surprising people at the Oscars. Not many people at home have seen these movies, but they find themselves cheering for them because they are "the little film that could". The funniest part of this strange phenomenon is that its no surprise anymore. Just look for the movie you haven't seen on the nominations list and that is probably who is going to win. This year's film is "Silver Linings Playbook".
This movie is good. It is not the greatest thing. When I watched I found it to be more enjoyable than rewarding. It certainly is unique because you find yourself leaving the theater loving the movie, but you don't know why -- similar to the feeling I had when I first saw "Garden State".
The movie follows Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, who went ape-shit on some guy he caught with his wife in the shower. He goes to a mental institution as a plea bargain and the film picks up 8 months after the incident when he gets out and tries to get his wife back. I know its pathetic but somehow you are rooting for this guy. Pat in the movie has bi-polar disorder and I think they do a good job of portraying it and they stay away from the "I'm a teenage girl and everything is emotional, thus I have bi-polar disorder" portrayal of it. The best part of the movie is the climax, which centers around a ballroom dancing competition. The only other movie that has a dance as the climax that I know of is Napolean Dynamite. Maybe this is a winning recipe.
Jennifer Lawrence has come a long way from killing teenagers in this movie. Her performance is very good and she has the intriguing face and the rocking body that any guy would become infatuated with. But her acting ability is very good. She too plays a loon and may do it even better than Bradley Cooper. Of course DeNiro is DeNiro, he plays the same role he always does, except a little cooky-er, and he's fine. Chris Tucker is in it, which is weird. He does okay but the entire time he's on a screen, you sit there and think "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth!"
Overall, this uniqueness I have spoken of in regards to this movie rests in something that this film far surpasses any of the year in and that is realism. Two examples will illustrate this point. There is a scene will Bradley Cooper pisses off Jennifer Lawrence in a diner and she leaves and flicks him off through the outside window. That is something I would have done. It's not raining in this scene, which we know never happens in real life, and its not slow motion. Its not overly dramatic, it is merely real, which makes it strike home even better. Another example runs throughout the entire movie and that is what I like to call the Robert Altman technique. That is people talking over people. Throughout the movie there are many points where three or even four people are talking at the same time, which we know actually happens in real life. Whether it is at the dining room table or an argument in the living room, we don't wait for the other person to stop talking before we start talking, we just don't. So much like Robert Altman movies, this film captures a natural dialogue, where there is a controlled chaos, essentially. It makes it feel real and thus makes the experience touch deeper to the heart.
The most memorable part of the movie is when Bradley Cooper has a breakdown after reading Farewell to Arms by Hemingway. This is the first time his bi-polar disorder comes out and it is when he wakes his parents up to explain how terrible Hemingway is for writing this book that you realize this guy is actually crazy.
This is NOT the best film of the year, despite what every stupid critic and news source will say. It is well worth the 10 bucks though. It is fun, endearing and natural.
Grade: B
