I’ve been meaning to see Silver Linings Playbook since it came out a few months ago. It was being well received and it had a great cast including Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. They are the up and coming generation of actors whom have been limited to popular confined roles like “The Hangover” and “The Hunger Games”; Both are decent movies, but geared for youth and nothing worthy of award. So the positive reaction to this meant that there might still be hope for generation x, y, or z in cinema.
I’ve become a sucker for the non-cliché romance in movies and shows. I’m tired of the friends with benefits angle, the head over heels hopeless romantics, and the affair loops. So when a movie manages to find a different medium, it’s worthy of at least a nod. (The most fascinating angle on a relationship I have ever seen is in House of Cards with Francis and Claire-go watch it.)
I liked the issue of mental illness and the over medication of the psyche for a center story and a starting point for the conflict with Pat’s mental breakdown over his wife’s affair. There was an underlying tone of hypocrisy with this Robert De Niro’s character and his obsession with the Eagles football team. It gave different perspectives on insanity which added another dimension to the story.
The story wasn’t obsessed with the romance between Cooper and Lawrence’s characters Pat and Tiffany, but rather the relationships in the family and football as well as a dance competition Tiffany has her mind set to. It’s not a story of perfection or happily ever after, but very much a feel good film, which I found unconventional and refreshing.
Not a chick flick, Funny, and with strong performances by the lead and supporting roles. I left the theater with very little to complain about.
8.7/10
As AJ Thinks 