{"id":4214,"date":"2012-11-21T01:47:24","date_gmt":"2012-11-21T09:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=4214"},"modified":"2012-11-21T01:47:24","modified_gmt":"2012-11-21T09:47:24","slug":"silver-linings-playbook-a-deeply-felt-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=4214","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Watch: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK: A Deeply Felt Comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nWe all know that Bradley Copper can play an asshole. In \u201cThe Hangover\u201d series Copper\u2019s Phil character is pure Alpha-Male jerk wad. He has played the smartest man in the world (showoff) in \u201cLimitless\u201d and stole an old man\u2019s book (creep) in \u201cThe Words\u201d. And have you ever seen the interview where Bradley speaks fluent French?<\/a> Really? Fluent French?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In \u201cSilver Linings Playbook\u201d Bradley does some stretching and plays a deeply flawed man named Pat. While Pat says some incredibly inappropriate sentences to everyone in earshot, he is no asshole. Having just been released from an 8-month stay in a mental institution, Pat wants nothing more in the world than to reconcile with his estranged wife. Problem is that the poor guy can barely function in the world as he suffers from a severe bi-polar disorder. He has meltdowns that can turn violent and rattles off any thought that comes to his mind. Cooper plays the role flawlessly, presenting the angst and innocence in way that makes you root for our poor Pat.<\/strong>
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\nWe all know that Jennifer Lawrence is versatile. After a couple year stint on the ridiculous sitcom \u201cThe Bill Engvall Show (!?)\u201d Jennifer burst onto the scene with strong work in the Indie film \u201cWinter\u2019s Bone\u201d in 2010. Since then she\u2019s balanced both blockbusters (\u201cThe Hunger Games,\u201d \u201cX-Men: First Class\u201d) and small films that retain her street cred (\u201cLike Crazy,\u201d \u201cThe Beaver\u201d). She\u2019s a chameleon. She even looks like a completely different person from varying angles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In \u201cSilver Linings Playbook\u201d Jennifer proves she can also do funny. But like all elements of the film, this is a complex funny mixed with tearful moments of pain and honesty. See the killer moment that follows a sad attempt at a date featuring a bowl of Raisin Bran and a cup of tea. Lawrence plays Tiffany, a young and broken girl who shares a couple of traits in common with Pat. Lost, alone and desperate for connection, Tiffany challenges Pat\u2019s world. She is also the heart of the film and had me tearing up from laughter on more than one occasion (Just wait for the killer dance number!).<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all know that David O. Russell makes challenging and quirky films. While his last project, \u201cThe Fighter\u201d was a little more streamlined, this is the man who brought us \u201cI \u2665 Huckabees\u201d and the Iraqi War dramedy \u201cThree Kings\u201d. His films have been heavily stylized and more Art House than Multi-plex.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With \u201cSilver Linings Playbook\u201d Russell has made his most accessible film to date. He gathers great work from his entire cast. Mr. Robert DeNiro gives his best performance in years as Pat\u2019s father, Pat Sr. DeNiro subtly gives glimpses of where our hero\u2019s issues must have steamed. The first two acts successfully place you in the mind of an unbalanced person and allow us to relate with Pat and Tiffany. It is an unconventional love affair that will sweep you up. The third act, while crowd pleasing, wraps things up a little too nicely. This is something that Russell wouldn\u2019t have done in the past. The hope is, by making a film that will reach more of an audience, Mr. O. Russell hasn\u2019t abandoned all that has made him unique.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know that Bradley Copper can play an asshole. In \u201cThe Hangover\u201d series Copper\u2019s Phil character is pure Alpha-Male jerk wad. He has played the smartest man in the world (showoff) in \u201cLimitless\u201d and stole an old man\u2019s book (creep) in \u201cThe Words\u201d. And have you ever seen the interview where Bradley speaks fluent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2611,3395,5330,10578,15534,17150],"class_list":["post-4214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-best-picture-contenders","tag-bradley-cooper","tag-david-o-russell","tag-jennifer-lawrence","tag-oscar-watch-2013","tag-robert-deniro"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4214\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}