SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Silver Linings Playbook isn't all that special. It is a typical romantic dramedy with some atypical and interesting cinematography. And it is set in a world were people don't seem to understand that sidewalks are for pedestrians and streets are for cars.

The plot of Silver Linings Playbook is corny and extremely formulaic. It falls into the polished turd category of film making. The two main characters are crazy before they fall for each other, then they are crazy for each other. Bradley Cooper plays Pat, a man who moves back in with his parents after an 8 month stint in a mental institution. Jennifer Lawrence plays Tiffany, a woman who has "poor social skills," and a dead husband. Pat is bi-polar and hyper-focused on getting back with his cheating wife who has a restraining order against him. Despite the fact he's obsessed with his wife, there is some sort of master plan to get him together with the lovely and kooky Tiffany. Cooper seemed to be playing a slightly more mentally unbalanced person than he did when he played the fictionalized Anthony Bourdain in the short-lived television series Kitchen Confidential. (If you are a fan of either Buffy and/or Freaks and Geeks, Kitchen Confidential gives you a little slice of Nicholas Brendan, aka Xander, and John Francis Daley, aka Sam Weir, that you can't get anywhere else.) Cooper's role wasn't much to write home about. It didn't blow me away. Lawrence, on the other hand, I gotta say, whether or not Lawrence thinks acting is stupid doesn't change the fact that she's damn good at it. I can't imagine anyone else playing her role. I didn't try that hard to imagine it, but still. She's good. I could go complete cheese-ball here and call her the silver lining of the film, but that would inaccurate.

Of course, I still have cheese-ball tendencies and the film does have a silver lining, two in fact: Chris Tucker and Robert De Niro. Chris Tucker was one of the main reasons the movie kept my interest. His character, Danny, was the perfect complement to Pat. He showed up at the exact times that he was needed. Whenever Pat was hesitant and being a whiny baby about doing anything, Danny would pop up to take Pat's place and/or show him what's what. At first, I was disappointed that Tucker didn't get more screen time, but looking back I think it was just right. The balance his character provided to the film was necessary. Too much of him would have taken away from that.And Robert De Niro, he was impressive. He plays Pat's OCD father so well that I can almost forgive him for Analyze This and Analyze That, Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, and, of course, Showtime! This film reminded me why I like Robert De Niro.

(The Weinstein Company)