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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

    • T-Meter Critics
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    141 - 160 (sorted by date)
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    Its comedy is refreshingly black and its farcical edge sharp.

    Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
    03/16/05
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Palo Alto Weekly

    [F]inds acrid humor in the blackness of unrelenting fury while never letting its characters be less than fully human...

    Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
    03/16/05
    MaryAnn Johanson
    MaryAnn Johanson
    Flick Filosopher

    Uptight Joan Allen gets drunk and goes ballistic in this flawed, deeply satisfying picture, offering Kevin Costner a chance to re-discover his off-kilter comic timing.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
    03/15/05
    Sean Burns
    Sean Burns
    Philadelphia Weekly

    High-caliber drama-comedy about an abandoned wife makes Joan Allen an early front-runner for 2005's Best Actress.

    Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
    03/14/05
    James Rocchi
    James Rocchi
    Netflix

    Endeavors to airmail the middle-aged suburban angst made fashionable by American Beauty safely back to cynicism-free sitcom territory.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    03/14/05
    Chuck Rudolph
    Chuck Rudolph
    Slant Magazine

    The Upside of Anger feels like it could have used some judicious re-writes to streamline the story to fit the just-under-120 minute run time

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    03/14/05
    Robin Clifford
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    Superb

    Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
    03/14/05
    Scott Nash
    Scott Nash
    Three Movie Buffs

    There are a few loose subplots in Mike Binder's film, but that only adds to the sense of its real-life charm. You'll be upset if you miss it.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    E! Online

    Writer/director Mike Binder and his ensemble cast, headed by actress Joan Allen, prove that even the hoariest of set-ups can still produce excellent drama, providing the writing is sharp and the acting superior.

    Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Pam Grady
    Pam Grady
    Reel.com

    Throughout her career, Allen has often been the best thing in lesser pictures. How refreshing to see a movie rise to her capabilities.

    Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Lisa Rose
    Lisa Rose
    Newark Star-Ledger
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Perhaps it's a sign, then, of how starved we are for movies with grown-up characters doing grown-up things that it's easy to ignore the downside of Upside and give the film a pass. Allen and Costner should find another movie to make together.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Glenn Whipp
    Glenn Whipp
    Los Angeles Daily News

    A wonderful, sophisti­c­ated ­romantic comedy about the ­resilience of love in the face of competing emotions.

    Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Jami Bernard
    Jami Bernard
    New York Daily News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This is no Terms of Endearment.

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Lou Lumenick
    Lou Lumenick
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Not even Allen, however, can save the film from its own excesses.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Ken Fox
    Ken Fox
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    A valiantly flawed effort boosted by noteworthy star turns that make the two-hour running time a rewarding filmgoing experience.

    Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Dustin Putman
    Dustin Putman
    DustinPutman.com

    A pleasant surprise, a sprightly comedy with a dramatic aftertaste.

    Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Peter Canavese
    Peter Canavese
    Groucho Reviews

    Binder has created a middle-aged female protagonist of rare depth and complexity, a jilted wife played by the great Joan Allen with screen-grabbing gusto.

    Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
    03/10/05
    Brett Buckalew
    Brett Buckalew
    FilmStew.com

    Writer/director Mike Binder...deftly blends comedy and drama until the writer's urge to add a heavy dose of irony at film's end makes it veer off course

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    03/10/05
    Laura Clifford
    Laura Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    Allen is one of the most reliable American actresses, and her intelligence and wit raise the quality of a movie that often feels as if it belongs on the Lifetime cable network.

    Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
    03/10/05
    Claudia Puig
    Claudia Puig
    USA Today

    A fresh, funny, pointed comedy

    Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
    03/10/05
    Arthur Lazere
    Arthur Lazere
    culturevulture.net
     
     
    141 - 160 (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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