I’d suggest a better title would be The Upside of Alcoholism,” but I really can’t think of any upside to this film.
The Upside of Anger (2005)
Tomatometer
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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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Reviews for The Upside of Anger
A drama mined with comic moments, the movie's got an Oscar-worthy performance from three-time Oscar nominee Joan Allen.
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.
A smart, funny, yet, at the same time, unrelenting look at what happens when a midlife slump collides with a midlife crisis.
Allen's desperate housewife makes this trip into suburbia worthwhile.
Even though Binder’s characters are all gems, the filmmaker needs to further hone his storytelling craft.
Allen's imperious turn and Costner's affable charm go a long way to ensuring you'll look back on Anger with affection.
[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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Binder ... has an astute ear for dysfunctional family dialect that enriches his complex story.
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.
Allen and Costner get to flirt and fool around and distract us from the rest of the movie. They're doing it a favor.
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.
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 82% 82% | Paranormal Activity |
| 58% 58% | 9 |
| 44% 44% | Jennifer's Body |
| 58% 58% | A Perfect Getaway |
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