It's such a shame that this movie is going to pass everyone by without so much as a second glance. It's going to sit in its limited release waiting for the packed theater it deserves listening to the crowd fill up in the showing next door of Red Dawn. It's six screenings each day will try their hardest to get those few who came out to see it to persuade their friends and family to venture out to see it as soon as possible, but it will be of no use. There won't be a theater close enough. Or they'll plan to see it at a future date, but by then it will be long gone. It's such a shame because the movie was an absolute delight to watch.
I think I understand why there's not much appeal to the average movie-goer. The movie is difficult to market. It's not exactly your Nora Ephron/Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks rom-com that appeals to the masses. It's a much darker movie, but with absolute no holds barred charm. It's flaw is that it's not a marketable movie. The studios have tried their best, but I feel it's a tad misleading. They can't market it as a quirky indie-esque comedy with true pain, heartache, and love because average people looking for mindless date night have already purchased seventeen dollar tickets to see Playing For Keeps. Or, those who want to see the indie side of romantic comedies have seen advertisements and posters that make it look like a Bradley Cooper version of Must Love Dogs, so they're staying away. The one shred of hope this movie had was word-of-mouth, but even that doesn't seem to be giving it hardly any staying power. I mean, hell, if Juno was able to bust out of the indie scene, this movie should too, shouldn't it? And Juno is a highly inferior movie compared to this. So frustrating.
Bradley Cooper plays Pat, a recently discharged mental patient who had a bit of a mind snap eight months prior when he caught his wife in the shower with another man and proceeded to beat that man within an inch of his life. He's diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is released into the custody of his mother and father. Pat tries to turn each moment of his life into something positive, something with a silver lining. But, his disjointed outlook on life is somewhat skewed when every action he takes is to impress his wife... a woman who won't see him and has a restraining order against him. He then meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who's just as screwed up in the head as he is, but never had to go to the nut house. Tiffany's husband passed away and she lost her job, so she's just a little screwy too. The two form a rather unorthodox bond and become good friends all the while Pat tries to win back his wife and Tiffany tries to make a friend.
Okay, I realize that even writing this plot out that it doesn't really do the movie justice. I'm not even sure how the script did it justice through a cold read, but somehow it just works. I mean, sure, a lot of it has to do with the acting because everyone in the movie is stellar. But, there's just not a way to put into words how this movie just... works. It works on multiple levels. It's funny, it's sad, it's painful, it's joyous. It's some of the best filmmaking you'll see from David O. Russell who I do now like as a director even though he's a turd of a human being.
Robert DeNiro plays Patrick Sr., Pat's father. He's got this entire subplot of having lost his job becomes a bookmaker, and superstitiously bets on the Eagles each week in order to save up enough money to open his own Philly Cheese steak Restaurant. He has to deal with his son waking him up at four in the morning because he's having a fit of rage due to the fact that he can't find his wedding video or a diatribe about how Earnest Hemingway sucks because his stories aren't happy. But he tries to make it work, and not really on the 'I just want my son to be okay' level, but more on the 'I think my son is good luck and whenever he's around the Eagles win' level. It's kind of twisted, but in a deeper way, kind of sweet. Finally, DeNiro is given a role with substance. He's done too many guido roles and one too many Focker roles that giving him a character with so many layers and emotional nuances really shows the acting chops we knew he had.
Chris Tucker is in this movie! You read that right. And he's great. He's Pat's friend Danny, a fellow mental patient who has a penchant for escaping the hospital. You can tell Tucker had a hard time being as reserved as he is in the film, but it may actually rejuvenate his career. But, the real stars of the film are Cooper and Lawrence. Cooper plays disturbed so well. He has no filter, he has no recognition of social norms anymore. He says whatever is on his mind without apology. He breaks into fits of rage, paths of destruction in his wake, yet you still have the utmost sympathy for him. He's trying and he's clearly not perfect. Lawrence plays crazy great as well. She's more the emotionally shattered, starved for attention, not really sure why she's crazy type of crazy. But, somehow in the midst of their two opposing forces, these two characters have a real chemistry.
Until This Is 40 is released in a few weeks, you'll be hard-pressed to find a pseudo-romantic-comedy as well written, acted, directed, etc., as Silver Linings Playbook. And though it's different than the romcoms you're used to, deep deep down under layers and layers and layers of indie flare is a standard boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back formula. Only this time, it doesn't feel predictable. It doesn't feel like you've seen this a thousand times played by Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. This move can truly stand on its own two feet. And I loved every minute of it. Just delightful.
A-
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