Tell us what you thought of 'Silver Linings Playbook'
David O. Russell's rom-com Oscar play hits theaters this weekend
Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook"
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After dazzling in Toronto (where it won the audience award) and picking up steam at this fest and that, David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" finally hits theaters this weekend in limited release. It will continue to platform throughout the holiday and more and more of you will see it, I'm sure, so I'd love to gauge your reactions. I haven't written much at all because I just don't have much to say. It doesn't inspire me like it does others. I found it to be slightly above the average of its genre, though Bradley Cooper's performance is a pleasant surprise. But let's hear what you think. Feel free to rate the film above as well.
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2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best Production Design
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Foreign Language Film
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November 17, 2012 at 9:31PM EST Reply to CommentGreat film...saw a screening this past Wednesday. The crowd was enjoying the movie. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were fantastic...both deserves noms (and Jen better win...she was completely wonderful). Great supporting cast too. David O. Russell is one of the best directors working. Wonderful movie...I plan on seeing it again.
Matt
November 17, 2012 at 9:35PM EST Reply to CommentIs this is the Oscar blogger shit list movie? You, Stone and O'Neil, jesus. This should be a fun season listening to all of you bitch and moan when a film that actually makes you feel good does well with award bodies.
Kristopher Tapley Except, as noted, you haven't heard me "bitch" much at all on this. Because I don't need or want to do that to the movie. Also, you can like the movie without projecting onto me how or why you think I responded to it.
November 17, 2012 at 11:57PM ESTGrow up.
Chad Hartigan
November 17, 2012 at 9:50PM EST Reply to CommentIt's no I ? Huckabees.
RichardZ come back!
November 17, 2012 at 11:28PM ESTsteve warren
November 17, 2012 at 10:15PM EST Reply to Commentsaw it in Austin in a packed theater...wide applause from the audience when it ended. my wife, adult daughter and i all thought it was HUGELY entertaining. a very, very satisfying experience. cooper is great. dinero's best performance in years and jennifer lawrence is just spectacular. i want to see it again already.
Jane
November 17, 2012 at 10:19PM EST Reply to CommentI saw it at a festival in October and LOVED IT! Cooper was surprisingly fantastic, DeNiro was his best in years, and Jennifer Lawrence did what Jennifer Lawrence does in her usual spectacular way. She's a lock for a nomination, whereas the other two face stiffer competition in their categories. I am eager to see it again, but the change in the release schedule has put those plans on hold for now.
Chad Hartigan
November 17, 2012 at 11:22PM EST Reply to CommentAlso, this was my introduction to the work of Jennifer Lawrence and I did not find her worth the hype, although not entirely her fault for being miscast. Can't believe she's considered the frontrunner for any awards.
Kristopher Tapley The Burning Plain and Winter's Bone are her best work, IMO. Worth seeing the former especially.
November 17, 2012 at 11:59PM ESTred_wine I think she is very very good here. Some may might find her acting style off-putting, she is completely unaffected, almost blank face some might say, but I find it refreshing, I find her realistic and how real people behave.
November 18, 2012 at 3:03AM ESTI think she is one of the best actresses today. I wouldn't mind if she won for this. There are of course better performances in lead (Riva in Amour, Vikander in Royal Affair, Gerwig in Damsels, Weisz in Deep Blue Sea) but they would not be throwing away the award on Lawrence.
Marie Winter's Bone is not only my favorite performance by Lawrence, but it's one of my favorites ever. She was just spectacular. One of main reasons I'd love her to win for SLP is because I think she was so deserving 2 years ago (her or Michelle Williams would have been a better choice). She was good in The Burning Plain, but have you ever seen her first lead role in the Poker House, in which she was also great.
November 18, 2012 at 11:35AM ESTWolf
November 17, 2012 at 11:52PM EST Reply to CommentFantastic film, great cast and chemistry. Jennifer lawernce and Bradley Cooper were amazing together
Beau Fine film, if a bit uninspired. Liked J.Law, but it's not a performance that blew me away. Nicely calculated but somewhat inorganic. Loved Cooper in this though. Nailed it.
November 18, 2012 at 3:16AM ESTXYZ
November 18, 2012 at 3:40AM EST Reply to CommentSpoilers herein.
Didn't really like this. I thought it was contrived (things occurring at perfectly opportune times), formulaic (De Niro winning both parts of his bet at the end - hooray!), and predictable (Cooper & Lawrence fall in love). I also don't think Lawrence is a good actress; I don't much care for her performance in SLP or Winter's Bone (I prefer her in Hunger Games, lmao).
This certainly wasn't dreadful or offensive - it was a fine, enjoyable watch. What I will say in its favor, though, is that some of the writing, and in particular, the acting (besides Lawrence) was the highlight for me. Cooper was pretty incredible here; I didn't detect an ounce of artificiality in his portrayal of Pat... totally natural. I also loved De Niro for the same reasons.
I'd give this, like, a C+. I don't quite get the acclaim, but this tends to happen each year with me and some of the Oscar frontrunners (e.g., last year I hated The Descendants and found The Artist unoffensive and fine, but extremely overhyped, similar to my reaction to Silver Linings).
M4
November 18, 2012 at 8:44AM EST Reply to CommentLoved it!....Jennifer Lawrence is amazing in this film, so heartbreakingly beautiful. I would be very happy to see Lawrence win the Oscar. Everyone else in the film nailed their performances as well, Cooper, DeNiro, Weaver. I'll definetly see this film again.
Evan
November 18, 2012 at 12:33PM EST Reply to CommentI'm with Kris on this one-- I didn't like it. It was silly at points (the therapist), slightly repetitive with the manic episodes, and ended up far too tidily. Don't really see what all the fuss was about on this one.
Piotr
November 18, 2012 at 12:59PM EST Reply to CommentI liked Lawrence, but I honestly don't see how she could beat Cotillard.
I've yet to see the likes of Riva, maybe she's even better, can't comment on that.
d2 Isn't there a scene where she demands that Cooper's character screw her? That'll surely turn on some of those old academy geezers...
November 18, 2012 at 11:39PM ESTAntonio A
November 18, 2012 at 2:35PM EST Reply to CommentAlthough I found the film very enjoyable, fun and touching in equal measures, I also find the conversations about Lawrence being the frontrunner in Best Actress this year kind of baffling. I thought she was good, but to me she has been better already and I actually enjoy her more in small dozes (The Beaver, Like Crazy, X-Men). On the other hand, Cooper deserves a lot of praise, he felt very genuine delivering a performance that combined comedic aspects and quirks with a palpable dark side always in the verge of coming out.
Brock Landers
November 18, 2012 at 4:11PM EST Reply to CommentI see this has been selected as the movie that's cool to hate this season. I am usually the guy who jumps on that train, but man, I loved it. Contrived, sure, but it's great in so many other areas (acting, dialogue, energetic direction) that I just didn't give a shit.
"Slow down Raisin Bran" made my crowd so berserk. Such a perfectly timed little moment.
Kristopher Tapley Who thinks it's "cool?"
November 18, 2012 at 4:18PM ESTBrock Landers Wasn't referring to you. More of a thing that I've noticed on Twitter. I've seen a few people say they really liked Silver Linings, but had issues with the 45 minutes that should have been cut from Lincoln and then they get called stupid and whatnot.
November 18, 2012 at 4:24PM ESTI actually like your approach, where you don't let your dislike for the film get in the way of your discussion of the awards season and the merits that the film does have. Not many Oscar bloggers can do that (*cough*Sasha Stone*cough*).
Benjamin
November 18, 2012 at 8:57PM EST Reply to CommentI really enjoyed it, don't see it winning best picture, but a really great film. The biggest surprise for me was that I'd heard so much buzz about how Jennifer's performance was the one to beat for best actress, and yet she was a little underwhelming. She was fantastic, but it didn't feel like a lead performance, more like a larger than average supporting role. I thought the best part of the movie was Bradley Cooper, who I've never liked much before now. I'm honestly surprised that some people aren't even predicting him to be nominated. He made the movie for me.
Me.
November 19, 2012 at 12:24PM EST Reply to CommentI didn't really like it. I have a friend who is bipolar. She used to have panic attacks all the time but she has learned how to control herself now. Even got a boyfriend. Nevertheless, that does not mean that she no longer has occasional mood swings and self-esteem issues. That being said, I couldn't buy Bradley Cooper's transformation in the film, who becomes sane at the end just so that the you-can-overcome-your-problems-believe-in-yourself message of the film would work. I really don't like these types of films. It feels so obvious when they want you to laugh, when they want you to cry. I feel manipulated. It feels fake. I didn't like the camera work. I hated the sugar coated ending. In real life, a relationship between two people with emotional issues would not be perfect, happy-go-lucky, or Hollywood-esque. There would still be conflict and issues. It's not a black-and-white thing. This was a phoney film, and I bet that a few years from now it will be forgotten. Right now it's just benefitting from being produced by Weinstein and having two popular and sexy leads. That being said, I did enjoy Jennifer Lawrence's performance in the tension-filled room, when DeNiro is doing the bet with the other guy. She carried the scene, and it was probably the most spot on moment in the film. Then they go to the whole dance thing and I started cringing and cringing until the credits started rolling.
Matt Was going to write something but the above said it all. Kind of surprised the film isn't being taken to task more for it's sugarcoated mental illness portrayal.
November 19, 2012 at 4:53PM ESTPatrick Roaldsen
November 20, 2012 at 12:46AM EST Reply to CommentWow. This movie just blew me away. Wouldn't necessarily call it 'feel good' like some of the others but it definitely had some great moments, funny and touching. The audience I saw it with responded pretty intensely to it, actual applause in the theater and laughter throughout. I see this one taking off with word of mouth.
cineJAB
November 20, 2012 at 12:54PM EST Reply to CommentOnce again, David O. Russell orchestrates a family of characters and brings out the best in his actors who deliver depth to characters that could easily lacked the dimension they did here.
Joe7827
November 24, 2012 at 12:07PM EST Reply to CommentMuch like the mental disorder of Bradley Cooper's character, this film can't decide what it wants to be: a serious movie confronting the realities of mental illness, or a Farrelly-esque exploitative joke of a plot that insults those with actual mental illnesses by implying that they can only thrive in relationships with others with mental illness?
It starts out by posing some interesting questions. Halfway through the movie, it disintegrates into a predictable romp. This may have been the easy route to the required feel-good ending, but it can leave some viewers unsatisfied.
gmayotte
November 27, 2012 at 6:42PM EST Reply to CommentWrite a commeI really enjoyed this film. What worked best for me in this film was a very rich screenplay brought to life by some great acting. This film, in particular, is strong in developing the cast of characters. Each character has a lot of depth to their personality and as an audience viewer I felt that I was able to understand each character beyond just surface level dialogue. I understand Tiffany's vulnerability, her grief, her constant need to latch on to something because nothing in her life feels grounded. I thought Jacki Weaver as Pat's mom was an very relatable character. I can visualize a mother like her going against all wishes to release her son from a treatment facility just to be with her child and then to find any way of relating and supporting her child. Additionally, I imagine there are a lot of fathers out there whose only understanding of how to parent their child is in relevance to a sporting team or via an interest or a hobby of the father figure muck like Robert DeNiro's character. Overall, the film is relevant to me. It touches on human emotion that is identifiable in everyone's life and there is something to be said about a film that transports you into a story but is not so detached from the world we live in. Who cares if the ending is predictable, didn't Pat say in the film "Life is hard enough as it is?" Not a best picture nomination for me but definitely Jennifer Lawrence, if no one else, deserves recognition for her acting in this film as well as recognition to David O' Russell's screenplay
glebe
November 29, 2012 at 11:27AM EST Reply to CommentBradley Cooper's character was released too early from the hospital and really needed to take his meds. While the movie is cracking its jokes all I could think is "Oh God, someone stop him before he really hurts someone."
And when everyone else is walking out of the theater happy with a feel-good ending, I kept thinking how that relationship is doomed. They need some real help, not dance therapy.
RichardZ
December 1, 2012 at 8:44PM EST Reply to CommentThis will clean up on the Golden Globes Comedy Feature. True Oscar nod for Bradley Cooper but I'm not hot for a Jennifer Lawrence nod (I do lover her and she's fine for the movie.)
Not a BP for me, but surely it will make the AFI top 5.
Also, David O. Russell is an amazing writer/director.