Silver Linings Playbook Reviews

three stars

Silver Linings Playbook is the best romantic comedy I've seen in a long time, mostly because of how fresh it is and the excellent performances & chemistry among the cast. Most, if not all romantic comedies are predictable, but Silver Linings Playbook kept me on my toes throughout. I had no idea what was going to happen next until the very, very end when it becomes obvious. The characters are all wacky, chaotic, but feel real. They all have problems and are really easy to connect with. David O. Russell could have overdone it with the mental illness angle of the film, but he juggles it perfectly. The cast is excellent. I've never been impressed by Bradley Cooper, but he was so good in this. Completely changes my perspective on him. We already knew how good Jennifer Lawrence is, so I was more looking to see if he could keep up. By the end, I thought everyone was trying to keep up with him. That's not to say that everyone else wasn't up to par, because they absolutely were, but I thought his performance was the most impressive. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper also have great chemistry together. You never question their feelings towards each other. Robert De Niro gives a memorable supporting performance as the father with OCD while the rest of the supporting cast is full of actors just having fun from Jackie Weaver even to Chris Tucker in his first non-Rush Hour role in about 10 years. Anyone who likes a good romantic comedy with serious characters and situations rather than fairy tales should absolutely watch this film.

A special gem of a movie that is a must-see. One of 2012's best and most memorable surprises. It has one of the best all-star cast and some of the best writing. A powerful and absorbing experience. A wickedly funny, delightfully romantic, modern and absolutely magnificent movie. A fantastic mix of drama and humor that works wonderfully well together and delivers. Director, David O. Russell crafts an absorbing, edgy, compelling and breathtaking movie. A masterpiece. It delivers some unforgettable performances with it's all-star cast, everyone involved is at the top of their game. Bradley Cooper is absolutely brilliant, he gives an outrageously enjoyable and emotionally effective performance. Jennifer Lawrence gives a remarkable and sensational performance, she's a blast of comic energy and heart and is breathtakingly gorgeous. Lawrence and Cooper are exceptional together. Robert De Niro is truly fantastic, he digs deep with the type of go-for-broke acting that we have not see him do since his days working with Martin Scorsese. Jackie Weaver is excellent. Chris Tucker is terrific. A crazy-good time that has a lot of grit and emotion. A terrifically entertaining movie that's bold, magnetic, unsettling, disturbing and has tremendous heart and is very beautiful. It's almost impossible to resist.

Phenomenally acted twist on the seemingly dead rom-com genre. SLP manages to inject a healthy dose of realism and emotion into a genre that typically has very flat characters. It also generates discussion regarding the topic of mental health issues and how this is currently handled in our society, where discussion is long overdue.

review soon....

Flixster states that "Silver Linings Playbook"'s genre is comedy. You sure?

Let me break it down for you: "Silver Linings Playbook" is essentially two different movies put into one. The first part is a very convincing heartbreaking drama with two very troubled individuals (Bradley Cooper as Pat and Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany) with very troubling pasts. These pasts have left these people so scarred that the pain has managed to physically manifest into real-world mental diseases. Furthermore, Pat and Tiffany try to find their healing and place in a world that doesn't seem to have enough room for their problems. It's a raw, real, and a shocking and personal look into these character's lives. I take that back -- characters they're not; these characters are people. That's how effective "Silver Linings Playbook"'s storytelling is. High praises to the writer and director for portraying such eccentric characters in such a realistic, non-Hollywoodized manner that is both stylish and entertaining to watch unfold. In other words, this ain't a one-dimensional characterized movie like "Spider-Man" was with its characters. But perhaps what is the most commendable part about this first part of the movie is how it's directed to a close perfection as the pacing flows with no uneven steps. As these characters try to re-Cooper-ate (sorry, too easy) and find their placing in the world, essentially the second part of the film unfolds seamlessly into a romance.

Uh oh. From a dark, raw drama to a romance? This may turn out to be like Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" (Watch it if you haven't seen it. Incredible first 2 acts with a jarringly horrible 3rd act that almost destroyed the integrity of the movie.). I proudly proclaim "Silver Linings" doesn't fall into that pit. Still doesn't mean that the second half is identical to the first. This part of the film doesn't dodge and weave around cliche's like the first half did, but by now, the film has grasped your attention so vigorously that you're ready for whatever the film will throw at you. And it's not even like "Silver Linings" had such a convincing first half that even if the second half was dreadfully awful, that you would be thoroughly enjoyed. The same level of craftsmanship that was poured out into the first half is found in the second, just that it might not be as unique as the first half. But hey, what a romance it is. You're gonna find cliche's, but it's just too entertaining, and it's not even like the cliche's were rampant. But what made the romance so unique from the rest of the pact is how it was fueled by the realistic emotions for the characters, not by invoking warm-fuzzy feelings to audiences so that it makes them giggle like a school-girl. So by now I could see how with romance, there could be comedy injected in, and there was, but not enough to solidly claim it as a rom-com; this is a drama with romance. Just because "The Dark Knight" had a few chuckles here and there, you wouldn't call it a comedy, would you? Yeah, I thought so. That's all that "Silver Linings Playbook had -- chuckles.

As a full package, "Silver Linings Playbook" has it all: incredible performances (De Niro's best role in yeeeeeeeeeeears), entertaining dialogue, superb directing and editing, and a narrative that is all but average. From beginning to end, first half to second half, the film is an enthralling motion picture due to the impeccably told narrative. "Silver Linings Playbook" is this year's "Slumdog Millionaire".

Very sweet natured and beautiful film that has a feel of a real life and elegance that many other films these days are lacking.
Silver Linings Playbook has jazzy editing style with great cinematography from Masanobu Takayanagi who is quickly becoming one of the most talented cinematographers working today. His work in films like Babel, Warrior or The Grey has not gone unnoticed. All those films looked fantastic and Silver Linings Playbook is no exception. What i also admired here was the clever dialogue which director David O. Russell has written for his characters. This is kind of a film where the film's beating heart lies more in the chemistry between people not in the action.
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are great couple on a screen and their wordplay is constantly fascinating to listen. Especially Lawrence is an revelation here. At the age of twenty two she shows tremendous talent for someone of her age. Her emotionally wounded Tiffany is one of the greatest characters created to celluloids in a long time. There is also quite good supporting turn from Robert De Niro but none of the other actors, not even De Niro, cannot even come close of Lawrence's assured performance.
Somehow this film reminded me of old Hollywood classics like Sabrina or Breakfast at Tiffany's but only with much sharper edge and grittier style. It still has this certain old elegance which those films had and style that makes it joy to watch. Takaynagi's camera floats seductively and enchantigly through apartment rooms and streets making it all look like a fairytale at times. The whole film has this romantic dreamlike quality that pulls you right in. There are some moments that are overreaching and some scenes are too close to be nothing more than a pure farce, still the overall effect is mostly stunning. With Silver Linings Playbook director/writer David O. Russell has made his best film to date. This is as entertaining as it gets and i truly loved that dance contest finale. Pure class.

First time first I must say that I hate you David O'Russell for making a movie that not only full with great performances from its cast with a great story, but also make the drama light enough to be called as romantic-comedy and open up the possibilities of being liked by a lot more people.. The plot is simple, it is a family movie that tells stories about hope, love, and chances but the script just made this movie more and more entertaining to be watched.. Jennifer Lawrence's performance describe it all with her Oscar that she received from this movie, she's really flawless especially with the help of her other movies 'The Hunger Games' that also released in 2012.. Bradley Cooper, I just can't realized he can turned his performance to be an A-class Hollywood actor when the first time I know him I thought he'll trapped in a lot of comedy movie (Silver Linings is a comedy movie too, but different from his other previous movies).. Robert De Niro I guess there's no need to doubt his acting, while Jackie Weaver completed the performance with her 2nd nominated Oscar performance in the last 3 years.. Overall, it's a great family movie with a great performances from the cast and great story too..

"Silver Linings Playbook" is an above average movie, which leaves viewers happy, and delivers a clear message. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence give great performances, and the plot is original for most of the movie, but delivers a predictable and somewhat cliche ending. Grade: B

This film is quirky, funny and heartfelt. The story is original and interesting, but does eventually succumb to convention. Through that, however, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence give outstanding performances and the supporting crew does a great job as well. A well done and original movie.

I'll be rooting for this one at the Oscars tonight. Great performances all around. Just the right mix of humor and drama, and officially puts Bradley Cooper into a whole new league. Jennifer Lawrence also brings her A-game!

A well-done but massively over-rated movie concerning a troubled ex-teacher (Bradley Cooper), fresh out of a psych clinic after an eight-month stint, who returns home to live with his parents (Jacki Weaver, Robert De Niro) in hopes of getting his life back in order, starting with finding his wife and convincing her he's okay now. When a young woman (Jennifer Lawrence) captures his eye with her looks and similarly odd behavior, his path to starting over starts to look brighter. The performances, especially Cooper, Lawrence, and De Niro, are all outstanding, and carry this movie from start to finish. The film's conclusion is a little weak, and it sometimes seems overstuffed with material, but overall this is a well-made picture and an example of how to correctly do a rom-com. It shouldn't be a "Best Picture" nomination, but it is still a movie worth one's time thanks to its subject matter and how well it handles the serious parts of the story in particular.

Tiffany: What meds are you on?
Pat: Me? None. I used to be on Lithium and Seroquel and Abilify but I don't take them anymore, no. They make me foggy and they also make me bloated.
Tiffany: Yeah, I was on Xanax and Effexor but I agree, I wasn't as sharp so I stopped.
Pat: You ever take Klonopin?
Tiffany: Klonopin, yeah!
Pat: Right?!
Tiffany: Jesus!
Pat: What day is it?
Tiffany: Ha ha
Pat: What about Trazodone?
Tiffany: Trazodone?
Pat: What, it flattens you out. I mean, you are done. It takes the light right out of your eyes.
Tiffany: Yeah it does... I'm tired, I want to go.

If you have ever taken one of these, the dialogue is going to sound smartly funny. That's too bad that "Silver Linings Playbook" ends up being just another regular movie. But it had potential, it had.

And please, let's just stop with this bipolar hype. As Dr. Michael Bumenfield said, "He (Pat) wasn't the typical bipolar patient. He was a complex character that has been traumatized by an experience in his life. And it shows how he was able to eventually move on and find a new relationship. That's really what the movie was about." And as stated back in 2010, "the increasing popularity of bipolar disorder may be attributed to increased media coverage, coupled with the high social status associated with celebrities". Obviously.

While the performances were strong the story was not. What promised to be a film that didn't follow the cliches of every other romantic comedy quickly fell into them with an ending you would expect. While it bills itself as a romance between two people who have some mental issues to work through we find that every character in the film is way off with no real explanation as to why these two are being singled out for their odd behaviors. Highly over rated for me.

Fresh movie and Jennifer Lawrence at her best.

If you were to look up the term "feel-good movie", this movie should be its main definition. It's thoroughly brilliant from beginning to end by staying on point with fantastic acting, comedy, drama, and engaging scenes. It's not often you get a movie that's very good as an all around film (comedy, drama, etc.)......but you have a winner here.

'Silver Linings Playbook'. Two richly developed, superbly acted performances slightly tainted by a false scene that was tonally, very off.

When Lawrence walks in to that house and delivers a rousing Hollywood monologue, heroic sips of beer et al, I wondered what the hell David O. Russell was thinking. There's a real sense of realness to this film, and all of it disappeared at that point. I always knew the ending would end as it did, and I was ready to forgive that, but this scene, unforgivable.

Again, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are superb. The writing of these characters, equally so.

As a personal rule, I normally avoid comedies or dramas that involve romance. I find the formula tedious and repetitive, not to mention, dull. However, director David O. Russell's material is often interesting and off-beat so I decided that I wouldn't overlook this one (especially when it features my favourite actor in Robert DeNiro). I have to say, I have renewed faith in the genre when there are talented people involved and it's futile to resist one with such depth and unpredictability as this has.
Pat Solotano Jr., (Bradley Cooper) is discharged from a state metal health institution after an eight month spell for bi-polar disorder that has led to him violently beating his wife's lover. When released, he lives with his parents Dolores (Jacki Weaver) and Pat, Sr. (Robert DeNiro) and decides to get himself fit and healthy again to gain back his estranged spouse. While out jogging, he crosses paths with Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a recovering sex addict with mental health issues of her own but as their friendship grows, they realise that they can both help each other to achieve to their goals.
David O. Russell has tackled dysfunctional families before in "Flirting with Disaster" and "The Fighter" and mental health in "I Heart Huckabees" so in many ways, he's on comfortable ground here and thankfully for us, it shows. He has a complete command over his material and even though you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is just your average, boy-meets-girl, romantic comedy, it isn't. It teeters on the edge of formula but it also knows how to play with it and never becomes predictable. The ace in Russell's pack, though, is the immeasurable help by a talented and commited cast. All the performances are absolutely excellent; Bradley Cooper is an actor that was always just been passable for me but here he shows a very impressive side to his acting talents; Jennifer Lawrence has impressed before in "Winter's Bone" and "The Hunger Games" but this may well be her finest performance to date as she balances vulnerability and strength with ease. My favourite of the bunch, though, was seeing DeNiro finally get a role where he's able deliver a whole range of emotions. One moment he's breaking your heart, the next he's in a fit of rage and also adds a lovely comic touch to things. Although, I was surprised at his Oscar nomination, I also wouldn't argue with it. It's great to have him back doing what he does best and hopefully this is the catalyst for bigger and better roles for him. I think we can all admit that he's deserving of better material than he's been getting of late. Added to which, apparently, it was DeNiro's absolute commitment to the film that encouraged the rest of the cast to raise their game. While we're on the subject of awards, all the leading performers have been Oscar nominated for their turns here (and that includes the great Jacki Weaver) - This is the first time this has been achieved by a cast since Warren Beatty's political drama "Reds" in 1984. It's also doesn't hinder things when the talented likes of Chris Tucker and Shea Whigham are pitching in from the sidelines either. Ultimately, the plaudits must go to Russell for the deft handling of the material, though. Yes, it has generic elements of the genre but by the end, it can't be pigeonholed and the characters aren't your average troubled souls that are played for laughs or zaniness. There is a depth and pathos to their struggle and the intermingling of their fractured, dysfunctional obsessions is a hard balance to achieve. Russell manages it with aplomb and every one of his cast do too.
I've always been a fan of the off-beat nature of David O. Russell's work but he has surpassed himself here and delivers an astute, not to mention, very refreshing commentary on mental illness.

SLP is a very entertaining, flawed, yet satifsying offbeat mental illness romcom (that's a new genre, huh?) It has a mostly sparkling cast of actors and lots of laughs and tears. It's also chock full of unlikely and annoying plot devices, and what seems to me an irresponsible portrayal of biopolar disorder. I also believe that Bradley Cooper, who's a decent leading man, is miscast as a poignant sufferer from bipolar disorder - that's the movies's biggest flaw. Pat Jr. is a man suffering from a marriage breakdown and his wife's infidelity which apparently triggered severe bipolar disorder. (Is this even possible?) His loving and patient working class mother, beautifully played by Jacki Weaver, decides to take him home before his treatment is over, to live back home with her and her husband, OCD suffering Philly Eagles freak Robert DeNiro. (DeNiro has the warmest and most touching role he's had in many years, he's terrific as ever) . Pat Jr. has developed his 'silver linings' theory of only focussing on the positive and he believed in his deluded head that will be enough to win his erstwhile wife back.Meanwhile, the type A wife of his best friend (solid former leading lady Julia Stiles) decides to fix him up with her damaged sister Tiffany (the sublime Jennifer Lawrence) who is another damaged soul, a young widow who's cop husband was killed on duty. Lawrence is tender, angry, hilarious, vulnerable and touching. It the best acting performance I've seen this year, yet at first glance, she seems miscast, being so young. She totally pulls it off her youth is not an issue. Tiffany wants Pat Jr. but he keeping himself for his pipe dream of getting back with his wife.I also enjoyed Bollywood star Anupam Kher as Pat Jr.'s tough but fair psychiatrist. His Indian acting rhthyms, wry sense of humour and off beat style was a completely fresh take on the cliched shrink role. Bradley Cooper is good at confident, intense and obsessive, but he's not very strong on vulnerable and for that reason I didn't find myself rooting for his character. I was totally rooting for JL to get her man, and I did care about DeNiro and Weaver, so I was very much engaged nonetheless. David O. Russell is very good with quirky stories and characters and his forte is depicting family disfunction and middle aged disappointment. However, almost all his movies have unlikely plot turns and in this case, they were maddening. Cooper is magically cured of his early violent bipolar tendencies halfway through the film for no apparent reason. I don't believe that true love cures clinical illnesses like that, but I admit I am no shrink. The reason to see this film is Jennifer Lawrence and despite Cooper's limitations (well he did get nominated for a best actor Oscar) the movie mostly works. I really liked the Philadelphia working class milieu, especially during the Eagles tailgate party. SLP is certainly worth your time.

A surprisingly charming film about a man so messed up he doesn't even realize it, and the people around him who are either helping or hurting. It's definitely an actor's film, comprised of performances that are riveting, sweet natured, and complex. Every character comes off as a volatile volcano of repressed feelings and utter neurosis. The family set up is certainly the best element and becomes the most intriguing. The son is named Pat (Cooper) a former teacher who has just gotten out of a court ordered stay at a mental institution for his bipolar disorder, has lost his wife, job, and the respect of his family. Pat tries to see the silver lining in every bad thing that seemingly falls into his lap while also trying to win back the affections of his wife, lose weight, and do something huge to bring back his former life. His father, played by Robert De Niro, has OCD, a compulsion that inevitable promises nothing but defeat, and doesn't do much for his relationship with his son. His mother, played by Jacki Weaver, is hushed in every fight and yet resilient enough to see when her son is struggling to survive. Jennifer Lawrence plays Tiffany, a friend of a friend who becomes Pat's ally in front of all the misunderstandings that reign down on him. They have their issues, have grief about their lost lives, and help each other in a strange game of chance surrounded by superstition and willpower. Pat and Tiffany engage in acidic debates and lengthy arguments while each shows their inherent charm and ability to finally connect with another person. The fact that this film is nominated in all the acting categories for the Academy Awards despite its lack of big budget and grand historical odyssey doesn't faze me, because it's a film filled with such understanding of the sick and neurotic and yet loves these characters the entire time they're suffering. Though it's a great film, and an enjoyably quirky one at that, no one is going to applaud over the formulaic and weak ending, which doesn't know what to do with itself. Still, I found this film to be deserving of its award season buzz and resounding message of hope in the face of adversity and strife.