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Movies / On DVD / The Upside of Anger
The Upside of Anger

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The Upside of Anger (2005)

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Reviews Counted:167

Fresh:122

Rotten:45

Average Rating:6.7/10

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

Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Mar 11, 2005 Limited

Box Office: $18,742,061

Synopsis: Starring Joan Allen, THE UPSIDE OF ANGER spans three years of a woman's life following her husband's sudden disappearance. Terry Wolfmeyer (Allen), an affluent suburban Detroit wife and mother,... Starring Joan Allen, THE UPSIDE OF ANGER spans three years of a woman's life following her husband's sudden disappearance. Terry Wolfmeyer (Allen), an affluent suburban Detroit wife and mother, goes from a paragon of sweetness to a volcano of rage in the wake of her husband's desertion; she thinks he has jetted off to Sweden with his Swedish secretary. Barely holding it together for her four daughters (distinctively played by Alicia Witt, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, and Evan Rachel Wood), Terry fitfully adjusts while befriending Denny Davies (Costner), a retired baseball player and radio personality up the street who shares her love of the all-day cocktail hour. Allen is a delightful force, displaying serious comedic talent and effortlessly stealing each scene. She glows with an unaffected sexiness, while Costner shines as the seemingly all-wrong man who turns out to be completely right. Writer-director Mike Binder casts a keenly perceptive eye on male-female relationships, a topic he also explored in his critically-acclaimed HBO series THE MIND OF THE MARRIED MAN. Binder also appears in a role as Denny's producer Shep, a shallow womanizer with surprisingly resonant reasons for being shallow. As the three years pass, Terry and her daughters are confronted with varying individual situations, choices, and compromises, with moments that ring true in ways both moving and strikingly funny. THE UPSIDE OF ANGER is an ideal combination of drama and humor. [More]

Starring: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Alicia Witt

Starring: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Alicia Witt, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, Mike Binder

Director: Mike Binder

Director: Mike Binder
Producer: Alex Gartner, Jack Binder, Sammy Lee
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Release:

Jul 26, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • A touching yet humorous film about a woman who finds her and her daughters' lives changed by a former baseball star who steps into her life as her drinking buddy.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Upside of Anger

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    I’d suggest a better title would be The Upside of Alcoholism,” but I really can’t think of any upside to this film.

    Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
    04/01/05
    Kevin Carr
    Kevin Carr
    7M Pictures

    A drama mined with comic moments, the movie's got an Oscar-worthy performance from three-time Oscar nominee Joan Allen.

    Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
    04/08/05
    John Wirt
    John Wirt
    Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

    The story develops with a mind of its own, free from convention and formula, and packs a heck of a twist at the end that does what a twist should do.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
    03/30/05
    Phil Villarreal
    Phil Villarreal
    Arizona Daily Star

    It feels like a bloated Lifetime TV movie.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    03/17/05
    Randy Cordova
    Randy Cordova
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A smart, funny, yet, at the same time, unrelenting look at what happens when a midlife slump collides with a midlife crisis.

    Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
    03/17/05
    Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
    Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
    Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Allen's desperate housewife makes this trip into suburbia worthwhile.

    Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
    04/20/05
    Lori Hoffman
    Lori Hoffman
    Atlantic City Weekly

    Even though Binder’s characters are all gems, the filmmaker needs to further hone his storytelling craft.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    04/23/05
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Austin Chronicle
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
    09/26/05
    AV Club

    Allen's imperious turn and Costner's affable charm go a long way to ensuring you'll look back on Anger with affection.

    Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
    05/01/07
    Neil Smith
    Neil Smith
    BBC

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
    07/14/07
    Joe Lozito
    Joe Lozito
    Big Picture Big Sound

    [L]ike Leaving Las Vegas, The Upside of Anger provides a galvanizing turn for its star--a daring alloy of pungent misery and jaw-dropping antics.

    Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
    04/25/05
    Alan Dale
    Alan Dale
    Blogcritics.org

    Binder is too facile an observer to get anywhere near the complexities of a house full of women -- instead, Terry is a prickly goddess, and the daughters are an assortment of muses.

    Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Wesley Morris
    Wesley Morris
    Boston Globe
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    04/02/05
    Boston Phoenix

    There's no downside to the crackling Costner/Allen pairing, but Binder spreads himself thin. He puts in play too many subplots about Allen's budding daughters.

    Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
    04/13/05
    Thomas Delapa
    Thomas Delapa
    Boulder Weekly

    Unfortunately, despite predictably fine performances all around, the overall effect of the film is hampered by poor directorial execution and an act-three plot twist that defies plausibility.

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Annlee Ellingson
    Annlee Ellingson
    Boxoffice Magazine

    While beautifully cast and acted, this focuses on its comic strengths to the detriment of the drama, creating an unbalanced tone and leading to self-conscious attempts at serious observation. A pleasant watch, but nowhere near as profound as it thinks it

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    05/04/07
    Anna Smith
    Anna Smith
    Channel 4 Film

    Binder ... has an astute ear for dysfunctional family dialect that enriches his complex story.

    Full Review Source: Charlotte Weekly | comment Comment
    04/04/05
    Sean O'Connell
    Sean O'Connell
    Charlotte Weekly

    I liked these characters precisely because they were not designed to be likable -- or, more precisely, because they were likable in spite of being exasperating, unorganized, self-destructive and impervious to good advice.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Roger Ebert
    Roger Ebert
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Allen and Costner get to flirt and fool around and distract us from the rest of the movie. They're doing it a favor.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    03/17/05
    Michael Wilmington
    Michael Wilmington
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Ms. Wood does her best with the material, as do Allen and Costner. It takes more than good acting to make a good movie, though. Good writing helps, and there's not enough of that here.

    Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
    03/10/05
    David Sterritt
    David Sterritt
    Christian Science Monitor
     
     
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    Latest News for The Upside of Anger

    June 08, 2006: Sandler to Star in 9/11 Drama
    Big-screen comedian Adam Sandler is going to get a little more serious for his next role. He'll be starring in Mike Binder's 9/11 drama "Empty City," along with Don... More...

    February 21, 2006: Actress Trio Joins Sandler's "Reign"
    Actresses Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, and Jada Pinkett-Smith will be joining Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle in "Reign O'er Me," a post-9/11 drama from "Upside of... More...

    January 11, 2006: Chicago Critics Pick Their 2005 Winners (and Iowa!)
    The Chicago Film Critics Group announced their nominees just before New Years' Eve, and they reconvened this week to vote on their year-end favorites. Also, the Iowa Film... More...

    January 10, 2006: Online Film Critics Offer Their Annual Nominations
    The OFCS, which is hosted right here at Rotten Tomatoes and (full disclosure) includes yours truly as a member, announced their year-end nominations yesterday ... and we hope... More...

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