Happiness Therapy

The average romantic aspect of the film was excellent, but the dramatic side was poor. Jennifer Lawrence's performance was excellent and she deserved an Academy Award for her performance in the film. Bradley Cooper's performance was excellent. The body of the psychopathic character was excellent.

While most romantic comedies usually contain bad acting, sappiness, and a large amount of predictable moments; Silver Linings Playbook is the exact opposite. There may be a little amount sappiness in this movie but there is bound to be some in any romantic situations. In reality though, all of the sap in Silver Linings Playbook can be overlooked due to the fact that the film is completely original, extremely funny, and contains outstanding acting from the two lead roles.

Written and directed by David O. Russell (The Fighter), Silver Linings Playbook is about a man, played by Bradley Cooper (Limitless, The Hangover), who was just released from an eight month stint in a psychiatric hospital. He wants to get his life back on track but is being held back by his parents and his unstable condition. After a little while, he strikes up an interesting friendship with a female played by Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone, The Hunger Games). Both of these characters are going through somewhat of the same type of problems which makes their friendship even more quirky and thought-provoking.

Because a large amount of romantic comedies are stale and overdone, Silver Linings Playbook is a breath of fresh air. Usually movies in this genre follow a very particular road map that entails: man is at rock bottom but then finds the perfect girl. After a while, man loses girl and must win girl back in a very cliché and unrealistic fashion. What's original about Silver Linings Playbook is that it doesn't follow that mediocre story line in the slightest making it unpredictable but at the same time, more relateable. Chris Tucker is in this movie and even he isn't predictable. Chris Tucker, the loud-mouthed actor who hasn't been in a film without the words 'Rush Hour' in the title for almost 15 years, was surprisingly mellow. Even though he was mellow, he was still very comedic and played a great role in the film.

The most surprising aspect of Silver Linings Playbook, however, was the performance of Bradley Cooper. Even though this is a comedy, Cooper plays what is maybe one of the most serious roles he's ever performed. After audience members witness his work in this film, there shouldn't be any more doubt if the man can act or not. Silver Linings Playbook is without a doubt Cooper's best work thus far in his career. Jennifer Lawrence has a performance of equal caliber but that is expected from the young Academy Award nominated actress. What was surprising about Lawrence's role in the movie, was how adult it was. Fans of Lawrence's work may have been worried that she would be stuck in teenage roles after playing the character Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, but she should silence those doubts after this film with a very adult, yet professional, performance.

Silver Linings Playbook is full of creativity and minimal on romance clichés. It is hands down one of the best romantic comedies to be made within the last couple of years. This film contains many laugh out loud moments and a number of scenes that will warm your heart to the point where you can't help but leave the theater smiling. Silver Linings Playbook is the perfect date movie that both men and women can easily enjoy. A-

I wanted to hate this movie sooo much. This is because a bunch of people told me to watch it, and not in a "hey this is a great flick" way but in a derogatory, judgmental "you NEED to watch this movie (lingering stare)" way. I get it. It's about people with some serious mental issues. Sure, I'll watch it just to say I did.

But instead of hating it, this movie won me over. Yes, it's about people with mental issues, but a subtle point of the film (which my judgmental friends didn't seem to get) is that EVERYONE is messed up, whether or not they admit to their disorders. It may take a while for this message to sink in, especially for those who tend to view the mental spectrum in black & white, but once you get it, this movie becomes a great experience in understanding the human psyche from all angles.

Ok, if you made it past my opening 2 paragraphs, here's the fun part. "Silver Linings Playbook" is a quirky, mostly lighthearted flick about 2 people who are each labeled as "crazy" and their odd relationship. The humor is similar to something you'd see in a Wes Anderson flick (Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic) or maybe even Jonze/Kaufmann (Being John Malkovich, Synecdoche NY). By that, I mean it's subtle without any big punchlines or slapstick gags. The sheer randomness and bizarreness of the characters' words, actions and reactions provide the comedy. So don't expect a lot of knee slappers, but at the same time there are a lot of funny lines that are very memorable.

Also, even though I described this as a "romcom", it's really not a romance or a comedy. It's more about the unique strangeness in all of us, set against the backdrop of romantic relationships. That's all you really need to know about the plot because it defies explanation. But I'll still attempt to sum it up in 1 sentence: A guy who has just been discharged from the nut house (Bradley Cooper) who is violently obsessed with winning back his ex-wife, befriends the "town slut" (Jennifer Lawrence), and they begrudgingly team up in an attempt to get both their lives together.

It's a great flick, probably best watched alone. Terrible first-date movie because it's not exactly your typical charming Hugh Grant type ice breaker. You probably won't want to watch it with your parents or kids either because there is a heavy, awkward sub-plot about dysfunctional family relationships. Definintely not a chick flick nor a bro flick (except that there's a lot about football, in a funny way). I would say watch it with your dog and have a great time.

"I'm remaking myself." Pat (Bradley Cooper)

Silver Linings Playbook doesn't play by the current romantic comedy book—No scatology, nudity, f-bombing, or feminist and gay bashing. It's simply a smart playbook about the mental institution's recently-released Pat Solitano (Cooper, shedding his Hangover boy-man shtick), who may be saner than his dad, an OCD gambler (Robert De Niro), and Bradley's new friend, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence).

But that comparison is all relative because director David O. Russell (remember his funky family in Flirting with Disaster?) allows each character in this dramedy to become whole and interesting without becoming marginalized.

After some serious outbursts of anger, Pat starts training for a dance competition with Tiffany in order to make contact with and eventually impress his estranged wife, Nikki (Brea Bee).

The eventualities of the story are not half as stimulating as the plot along the way, some of the best scenes centered around the family squabbling about the Philadelphia Eagles or Pat's relationship with that "slut," Tiffany. When Pat confronts his parents at 4 AM about the deficiency of Hemingway's ending to A Farewell to Arms and when Russell places under another scene Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash singing Girl from the North Country, you know you're in a film that follows no particular playbook.

The dynamics as fostered by these superior actors are some of the best ensemble work this year. In fact, this is so far the best of the romantic comedies in recent memory. Pat and Tiffany may be bi-polar, but they can dance the stars into your eyes.

Jennifer Lawrence plays so different a character from those in Winter's Bone and Hunger Games that it may take you a scene or two to recognize her. But when she dances, you'll confirm she's one of the best young actresses in Hollywood, and this film one of the best of the year.

While the big headlines might be taken by the Oscar nominated lead actors (and also Oscar winner, regarding Jennifer Lawrence), the other good news is that De Niro finally had a role he could relish in again. And a role we as viewers would actually like to see him in too. There have been a few lesser roles he played over the past couple of years. And while he is never able to completely disappoint, you won't remember him for a movie called "Freelancers" and others in that vain.

But back to the leading couple. A couple that is really so far apart, that you know what that ultimately means for them. But Bradley Coopers character has a lot more going on than that. There are relationships that went wrong and it's really tough sometimes to watch him destroying himself or at least attempting to. A very good movie, with great dialog