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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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    101 - 120 (sorted by date)
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    The Upside here is the brilliant work of Joan Allen and Kevin Costner. Yes, that Kevin Costner.

    Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
    03/21/05
    Christian Toto
    Christian Toto
    Washington Times

    Joan Allen steals this poignant and sometimes funny film.

    Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    03/21/05
    Diana Saenger
    Diana Saenger
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    The upside of this movie are the performances - it's worth a look.

    Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
    03/21/05
    Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
    Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
    TheMovieChicks.com

    The movie offers smug observation posing as insight and judgment posing as sympathy.

    Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
    03/19/05
    Cynthia Fuchs
    Cynthia Fuchs
    PopMatters

    Binder creates a familiar, complex, realistic, deeply human dynamic between his characters, and provides each actor rich layers of feeling and humor with which to create them.

    Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Rob Blackwelder
    Rob Blackwelder
    SPLICEDWire

    [Allen and Costner] deliver pitch-perfect performances that lift The Upside of Anger several notches above the sometimes schematic script and direction.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Carol Cling
    Carol Cling
    Las Vegas Review-Journal

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

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Ann Hornaday
    Ann Hornaday
    Washington Post

    Though this is not the type of serious film likely to win many awards, Allen gives one of her best performances.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Mary Brennan
    Mary Brennan
    Seattle Times

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

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Ruthe Stein
    Ruthe Stein
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This rich, supple, truly felt movie is a big leap for Binder, and while he clearly studied the sitcom manual for timing and structure, the film rises like a bubble above soap opera.

    Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    David Elliott
    David Elliott
    San Diego Union-Tribune

    Shelton ... understands both genders and can write for them.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Gary Thompson
    Gary Thompson
    Philadelphia Daily News

    Perfectly adult, perfectly acted and perfectly adorable, it surprises and charms for most of those 90 minutes.

    Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Roger Moore
    Roger Moore
    Orlando Sentinel

    Despite Denny's sturdy support, The Upside of Anger belongs to Terry.

    Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Rene Rodriguez
    Rene Rodriguez
    Miami Herald

    This is one of those films with a math problem, where the sum of its parts do not add up. But what parts!

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Bruce Kirkland
    Bruce Kirkland
    Jam! Movies

    Meant to explore anger, all this picture does is manufacture it.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Rick Groen
    Rick Groen
    Globe and Mail

    One seriously enjoyable film, filled with laughs and recognizable situations and people you might know or like to know.

    Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Tom Long
    Tom Long
    Detroit News

    Allen, who is without doubt one of the best actors of her era, gets to go places she has never before gone, while Costner gets to remind us exactly what it was we were drawn to in Bull Durham.

    Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Terry Lawson
    Terry Lawson
    Detroit Free Press
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It stands as a strong piece of comic filmmaking, elevated by Allen's acid-laced performance and Costner's shambling charm.

    Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Robert Denerstein
    Robert Denerstein
    Denver Rocky Mountain News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Allen gets to the heart of the movie's humor without ever winking.

    Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Lisa Kennedy
    Lisa Kennedy
    Denver Post
     
     
    101 - 120 (sorted by date)
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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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