Silver Linings Playbook - 2012

"Silver Linings Playbook" is about broken people.  Bradley Cooper is Pat, a bi-polar man who is recently out of the mental hospital.  Jennifer Lawrence is Tiffany, a young widow.  Of course the trailer is like any generic romantic comedy.

I went to see this film as it is nominated for a lot of Oscars.  All the acting categories are covered, Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. 

There are many aspects I'm not sure about.  First off, the way that Pat and Tiffany are brought together.  Pat's best friend invites him to dinner.  Tiffany is the wife's sister.  It isn't clear if it is a fix up or not.  They both say inappropriate things and leave before the duck is served.  We start to get bits and pieces of their back stories. 



One side note, Julia Stiles is wasted in a tiny little part.

Pat wants to get his wife back.  Tiffany wants to dance in a contest.  They work out a deal so they can both achieve their goals. 

Running along with this is Pat's parents played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.  Dad is obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles and reminded me a little too much of those Bud Light "It's Only Weird If It Doesn't Work" commercials.  He has to hold a handkerchief and his remotes have to be a certain way and his son needs to be on the couch. 



Mom is always in the kitchen making appetizers. 

There is rapid fire dialogue.  I didn't understand even having the brother character.  He seemed kind of a waste of screen time. 

I really don't enjoy mental illness as a plot device.  In the movie he finds his wife in the shower with another man and beats the crap out of him.  I think there are a lot of men that would do this and they wouldn't have to be mentally ill.  I felt like they gave him a disorder to forgive him for this act that doesn't really need it.  

I don't like the widow thing either.  There is a lot of talk about how her husband died and when she reveals the story it felt anticlimatic.  Certainly not a guiltridden tale. 



There was a lot of running in garbage bags. 



A lot of sweaty dancing.  But there weren't a lot of answers to questions raised. 

It was OK.  I was hoping for a transcendent movie.  It was a well cast romantic comedy.  I might check out the book and see if it has more depth and understanding. 

I will think about it.