Review of Silver Linings Playbook (2012) by Stephen T — 15 May 2015

It's the classic "big fish in a small pond" syndrome; the romantic comedy genre is so weak nowadays that when a movie like Silver Linings Playbook comes along, while entertaining and refreshingly quirky (director David O.

Russell's specialty) it doesn't really stay with you. Don't get me wrong, I liked it fine with terrific performances by Lawrence (she deserved every bit of that Oscar) and De Niro (who finally gets a good script in which to flex his considerable acting muscles); but never did I fall head- over-heels in love with it.

Something inconsistent crippled the whole film; maybe it was supposed to be that way given the ups-and-downs of mental illness in a larger, more general way, but I never felt much for Bradley Cooper's character even though his eyes did most of the acting in this film and that was very subtle and cool.

The Chris Tucker character confused me at first because he didn't seem real. I thought he was one of those narrative devices; kind of like Bradley Cooper's imaginary friend who he talks to in order to get encouragement.

Anyways, while not an instant classic, Silver Linings Playbook made for an enjoyable afternoon and maybe that's what it was meant to do all along.