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The Upside of Anger

The Upside of Anger (2001)

tomatometer

75

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 169
Fresh: 126 | Rotten: 43

A comedy/ drama for grown-ups, with fine performances by Joan Allen and Kevin Costner.

68

Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 23 | Rotten: 11

A comedy/ drama for grown-ups, with fine performances by Joan Allen and Kevin Costner.

audience

59

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 28,385

My Rating

Movie Info

Two friends wonder if there might be more between them when their lives both take a left turn in this romantic comedy. Terry (Joan Allen) is a middle-aged housewife and mother of four teenaged daughters and gets the shock of her life when her husband, without a word of warning, leaves them behind, presumably to move to Sweden with his secretary. Going through a bender of depression and alcohol, Terry finds herself commiserating with Denny (Kevin Costner), a former baseball star turned

R, 1 hr. 57 min.

Drama, Romance, Comedy

Jul 26, 2005

$18.7M

New Line Cinema

The Upside of Anger Trailer & Photos

More Photos (5)
More Trailers and Videos (14)

Cast

Critic Reviews for The Upside of Anger

All Critics (182) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (132) | Rotten (44) | DVD (25)

Binder wrote this movie for Joan Allen, and it is her flinty performance that gives the undertaking what claim it has to success.

September 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Film.com | Comment
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The actors tune in to their individual characters perfectly, but this is Allen's show.

April 2, 2005 Comment
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Standard-issue.

March 25, 2005 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

What's best about Upside is its gonzo-sitcom craziness, a situation that lends itself to enjoyable performances.

March 18, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It feels like a retread of several better movies, with a nastier, more bitter edge.

March 18, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The characters are actually believable, and the messes they get into approximate real life.

March 18, 2005 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

No actress has neck muscles like Joan Allen - able to gracefully reach upward or, here, stiffly twist into a double helix of tension and anxiety. It's not simply witty repartee and good chemistry. It's about comfortable situations that can't really last.

November 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Nick Rogers
Suite101.com

Writer/director/actor Mike Binder (writer on HBO's "The Mind Of The Married Man") is to blame for this melodramatic game of Three Card Monte.

April 16, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Always more than a mere by-numbers domestic drama, The Upside of Anger is desperately, darkly funny, with dialogue to, er, die for, and a perfect cast.

July 2, 2007 Full Review Source: musicOMH.com | Comment
Anton Bitel
musicOMH.com

Costner shines as the persecuted suitor who tries his best not to mind when being nagged and belittled by his regally shrewish object of desire, up to a point.

June 30, 2007 Full Review | Comment
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

Engaging, brilliantly directed, frequently funny and ultimately moving drama with a terrific script and superb performances from Allen and Costner.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: ViewLondon | Comment
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Very watchable.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: This is London | Comment
Derek Malcolm
This is London

A grandstanding performance from Joan Allen is the main attraction in this suburban dramacom.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: thelondonpaper | Comment
Neil Smith
thelondonpaper

The final twist is misjudged, and it doesn't cohere at any level; but some funny moments.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Independent | Comment
Independent

Hilarious, moving and intoxicating.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Sun Online | Comment
Johnny Vaughan
Sun Online

Self-pitying and saccharine, this big whining ball of dross drags itself across the screen for two interminable hours, climaxing in a twist ending that comes with neon road signs attached.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | Comment
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Entertaining but flawed look behind suburbia's twitching curtains.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Total Film | Comment
Neil Smith
Total Film

This is well worth investigating.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | Comment
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

Showy and door-slamming but very watchable.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comment
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

A superior suburban chick flick.

May 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Times [UK] | Comment
James Christopher
Times [UK]
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Upside of Anger

View All

The only upside to this film is the twist ending that is only welcome because you end up hating the characters so much (I won't spoil the ending but I also wouldn't recommend this film). To be fair though, I thought Kevin Costner was pretty good in this and I liked his character. Joan Allen is good at what she does but

May 31, 2011
SirPant
Anthony Lawrie

Super Reviewer

I really quite liked ths movie, it was a beautiful storyline and brilliantly acted as well! Its funny, dramatic sad and a powerful drama that really is inspiring as well! the story is about a wife who comes to believe her husband has betrayed her and left her for his receptionist so she comes so engrossed in her

November 29, 2007
FiLmCrAzY
Film Crazy

Super Reviewer

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Latest News for The Upside of Anger

June 8, 2006:
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  • El Beneficio de la Ira (ES)
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