Directed by: David O. Russell.
Written by: David O. Russell based on the book by Matthew Quick.
Starring: Bradley Cooper (Pat), Jennifer Lawrence (Tiffany), Robert De Niro (Pat Sr.), Jacki Weaver (Dolores), Chris Tucker (Danny), Anupam Kher (Dr. Cliff Patel), John Ortiz (Ronnie), Shea Whigham (Jake), Julia Stiles (Veronica), Dash Mihok (Officer Keogh), Matthew Russell (Ricky D'Angelo), Brea Bee (Nikki).
There
was a time when not all romantic comedies sucked. I’m thinking of the 1930s and
1940s, when the classic romantic, screwball comedies were made. It wasn’t that
films like Leo McCarey’s The Awful Truth (1937) or Ernst Lubitsch’s Ninotchka
(1939) to name just two examples told original stories that made them so
special – it was that the dialogue in those movies had a musical nature to
them, and actors like Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo,
etc knew how to deliver it to maximum effect. It is in this tradition that
David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook fits into. In terms of plot, this is
a standard issue romantic comedy – you know precisely how everything is going
to play out from fairly early in the running time, even if the characters do
not. But the dialogue is excellent – and the actors rip into their roles with
the same kind of comic force that we don’t see very often. And the movie even
finds some time for some genuine emotions along the way. It is probably
impossible to recreate those screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s today,
but Silver Linings Playbook comes as close as we’re likely to see in this day
of age.
The
film stars Bradley Cooper as Pat, who has just been checked out of a mental
institution by his mother after an eight month stay. Something happened back
then – a violent episode involving his wife – that led to his involuntary
confinement. But he’s out now, says he is better, and hell-bent on getting his
wife back. This is an unrealistic goal that everybody except Pat seems to
realize. She has a restraining order on him and has gotten a divorce
settlement, but Pat is determined that eventually, he’ll win her back. He’s
been working out – obsessively – lost weight and is even reading the books she
teaches to her English classes; to show they have common interests. His mother
Dolores (Jacki Weaver) is forever kind and patient with him. His father Pat Sr.
(Robert DeNiro) has some of his sons same issues – just undiagnosed. Pat Sr. is
obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles, but has been banned from the stadium for
his own violent outbursts – and is superstitious in the extreme about what
rituals to follow to ensure the Eagles win.
Things
change for Pat when he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a beautiful young
widow, with mental issues of her own. She is the sister-in-law of Pat’s best
friend Ronnie, who because they have mental illness in common, Ronnie and his
wife think they will have a lot to talk about. Like every romantic comedy, the
two don’t like each other much at first, but soon they do in fact bond. Their
shared loss, which is what drove each of them over the edge, binds them
together – and Tiffany’s determination to enter a dance contest with Pat gives
them something to work towards together.
The
heart of the movie is the scenes between Cooper and Lawrence, both of whom are
excellent in their roles. This is the role Cooper in particular has been
waiting for – a chance for him to show he’s more than just another pretty boy
actor. The movie makes good use of Cooper’s natural charming persona, but also
allows him to stretch himself. He is very good at getting into Pat’s somewhat
warped head as he tries to get better. For her part, Lawrence elevates what
could have been a very standard role – that of the beautiful young woman who
helps “heal” the main character. She has issues of her own, and is her own person,
but her journey is more in support of Cooper’s, so it to her credit that she
makes Tiffany into a fully rounded person. The movie is at its best when these
two are by themselves, talking. Russell’s great dialogue moves at rapid fire
pace. These two actors find a rhythm all their own in the dialogue, and make
their scenes together the highlight of the movie. The supporting cast around
these two are also very good – Jacki Weaver, best known for playing the warped
matriarch in Animal Kingdom, plays the complete opposite this time – the
kindest matriarch imaginable. And it’s good to have Chris Tucker back doing his
usual Chris Tucker thing. It can be annoying at times, but it’s been so long
since I’ve seen him in a movie, that to me, he was a welcome addition. The best
supporting performance belongs to Robert De Niro as Pat Sr., a man struggling
in his own ways. De Niro, who so often now seems to sleepwalk through his
roles, here is excellent – a man struggling with his own demons, and also
struggling with his sons – he wants to help Pat out, but just doesn’t seem to
know how.
Silver
Linings Playbook was written and directed by David O. Russell. Russell’s first
four films – Spanking the Monkey, Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings and I
Heart Huckabee’s – were all exceedingly strange, and in their way daring. His
last two films, The Fighter and now Silver Linings Playbook are more
conventional – more easily fit into a specific genre. Yet both of these recent
outings are excellent examples of their genre – that Russell, through the
intelligence of the screenplays, sensitivity with the actors, and perfect
timing as a director, has made better than most films of those genres. Yes, if
you walked into the last 10 minutes of Silver Linings Playbook, you could
easily conclude that this was just another romantic comedy – one that ends in
the same clichéd way they all do. But how Russell gets there is altogether his
own. I may wish Russell took a few more chances in his recent movies, but it’s
hard to complain too much when the result is a film as entertaining as this.
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