Pretty Good

Excellent but underrated film

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It was this a comedy? Because I didn't laugh once (maybe once on a rude comment here and there). Was this a realistic movie about mental problems? Of course not. Was this an original mix of genres with great writing? No. It has cliché romance, cliché father/son problems. Cliché violent guy problems. All together with a cliché ending. The only "different" thing is the performances of mentally unstable people by the gorgeous leads... That's it.It is terrible and overrated

The film centers around Patrick (Bradley Cooper), a bipolar person, who has issues. He goes into a berserk mode whenever he hears "My Cherie Amour" like Curly used to do when they played "Pop Goes the Weasel." Of course bipolar people should be introduced to other bipolar people, because you never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself.Patrick is introduced to Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who steals every scene with an Oscar worthy performance. Robert De Niro plays Patrick's father, a superstitious Eagles fan, who appears to be slightly bipolar himself. While institutionalized, Patrick learned to look for "the silver lining" in everything in order to cope with life, something he doesn't always do too well. Tiffany has her own issues and together they haphazardly work their way into a relationship.They should film more movies in Philadelphia as I have never seen the streets so clean. It is a heart warming, fun drama/romance with an indie flavor. Worth a view, but not necessarily on the big screen.Parental Guidance: F-bombs, no sex, brief nudity.

Silver Lining Playbook is a romantic comedy directed by David O. Russell, starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert DeNiro. Cooper plays Pat Solantano, who was recently released from a mental facility. Where he was hospitalized after having a breakdown and losing his wife to an affair and then losing his job. The movie follows his story in re-claiming his life and finding his own kind of happiness. Along his journey he crosses paths with Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence who offers to help him with his estranged wife if he does something for her. The complexity of human relationships is played out very well throughout this film. The father/son relationship Pat has with his father who is played by Robert DeNiro, with both of them trying to figure out how to handle their complicated relationship after Pat's breakdown and hospitalization. Tiffany and Pat's relationship is also a very interesting one. They are both dealing with a lot of loss and coming to grips with their own insecurities. Camera angles were key in this film. The way it was shot really brought the viewer into these characters lives almost in the first person point of view. It seems the camera is going a long for the ride as another character within the film. Silver Lining Playbook is an excellent film focusing on the relationships of the common man and something everyone can relate too.

I absolutely hated this film. I am amazed to hear it was meant to be a comedy. I only lasted 40 minutes or so. The company of mentally ill people behaving like sad lunatics is hardly agreeable, certainly not where they are behaving in a totally ridiculous manner all the time. I can only echo what reviewer Pinko 2004 wrote:'This film contains a horrific depiction of mental illness that objectifies human beings as caricatures. Cooper's character, who is supposedly the film's primary protagonist, is portrayed in such a disturbing way that an uninformed viewer could not be blamed for thinking that those who are bipolar - a very real illness with very real, good people who suffer from it - are all miserable, violent people who obsess over others to the point of stalking them.'Absolutely! Hated it, hated it, hated it!