Silver Lining Playbook

I enjoyed this more than either Lincoln or Argo. Does anyone think it has a chance to win Best Picture?

I can't wait to see it. David O. Russell will likely get a Best Director nom and Jennifer Lawrence a likely Best Actress nom. Lawrence is on a roll. This would be her second best actress nod at the age of 22. She's proved she can open a mega franchise. She's down to Earth and has an amazing amount of good will in Hollywood. She's playing a crazy widow up against a 38 year-old Bradley Cooper and holds her own. Even crazy David Russell who can really get into it with his talent has nothing but praise for her.
This seemed to be a more "personal" film for Russell than The Fighter was. Based on some of the stories I've heard about him, I wonder if he is bipolar. I mean I really wonder; I'm not making a mean-spirted joke.
Yes! Saw a screening of this with many voting Academy members, and the applause as the credits rolled with loud and boisterous, and rightfully so. Jennifer Lawrence is a shoo-in for a nomination, as is the film. It's funny, touching and heartbreaking. This one could go all the way. Emotionally, I connected more to this film than to either Argo or Lincoln, and if I were voting, this movie would get my vote. Still have yet to see Life of Pi or Les Miserables, plus a few other contenders. Bradley Cooper is great too, but his category is insane.
Saw a screening for it for SF Film Society. People loved it. For me, definitely one of the best this year.
Sooooo, most importantly...is Bradley Cooper shirtless/naked in this?
I can't remember if there was skin or not -- the movie was [italic]that[/italic] good.
I'm rooting for DeNiro over Alan Arkin or Tommy Lee Jones. When Deniro finds a role that stimulates him he becomess the kind of risk-taking actor we was in the 70's.
There's no Cooper skin. Sadly. Only complaint I have about it. I wouldn't be surprised if it scores nominations in all four acting categories for Cooper, Lawrence, De Niro, and Jacki Weaver.
R5 Cooper doesn't take off his clothes but he has a fun dance with Jennifer Lawrence that ends with her pussy landing on his face
It is interesting that partly as a reaction to the very bad press that he used to get journalists are now too kind to Ben Affleck. He is proficient director--nothing more. David Russell is a real orginal.
Saw it at a critics preview, and called it an atypical frau romance. Audience really laughed but I don't see the support for an Oscar nomination, except for Jennifer's ballsy performance. Still good to see something more original than usual.
Meh. Jennifer Lawrence deserves to win everything, but the movie is a by-the-numbers story with a few David O. Russell manic episodes... which you can see for free on Youtube, starring Lily Tomlin.
I think that Bradley Cooper's performance is as impressive (and more surprising) than Lawrence's is. Russell said that when he saw Cooper in Wedding Crashers "he seemed like a very angry person--like a big angry frat guy." Russell tapped into something that no other director has.
Wow! Very excited to see this.
Can't wait to see this. Heard JL is a frontrunner for Best Actress this year for her perf. Love her.
Saw it at the Toronto Film Festival and loved it. I think the male relationships, the sports angle and DeNiro keep it from being a frauflick.
DeNiro gives his best performance since Casino. He and Russell both have "special needs kids" so the father/troubled son dynamic really resonated for them.
Jacki Weaver should win best supporting actress. She's a much more capable actress than either Sally Field or Anne Hathaway, that's for sure. She burst onto the scene with Animal Kingdom, and gives a wildly different performance in SLP. The Academy clearly loves her, and this is their chance to honor real talent.
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I saw it today. I kind of liked it. It was a very loud movie with alot of yelling and screaming. Guess I should have seen the quieter life of pi. Also, Bradley's tiny teeth bugged me the entire film ( they remind me of Ben Afflecks tiny teeth).
My love of Jennifer Lawrence is enough to override my hatred of Bradley Cooper and make me actually want to see this film, which is really saying something.
Just got back from seeing it. I was prepared to hate Bradley Cooper but I thought he was really excellent in the role. I don't think Joaquin would have worked at all. Way too heavy for this type of material. Jennifer Lawrence was truly magnificent. She's definitely going to go far, even if she doesn't win for this. I don't know why the Streep Troll is blathering about Jackie Weaver. She was barely in the movie. It was a thankless role, mere window dressing. She spent the majority of the film in the kitchen making snacks for her husband's football games. I don't think she had one interesting scene. It was practically a cameo role, nothing of substance there.
I thought Weaver underplayed very effectively in all of her scenes with DeNiro, Cooper,and Lawrence. Her reading of the "It's all under control" line was classic.
Not the Streep Troll
No, it has no chance of winning BP.
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I can't wait to see this. I must continue my streak of seeing every Bradley Cooper movie in the theater, which I started with "That Hangover".
I mean "The Hangover", duh.
R24
Oh great, another UMC white depiction of mental illness in a rom-com setting!! Russell is an asshole, too. To the poster upthread who said that they wondered if he was bi-polar, he's had many armchair psych diagnoses over the years, but I don't think that was one. It was based on a book, IIRC, but Russell has said he really can't write anything that's not based on his life in some major way.
I loved seeing Eli from Boardwalk Empire play another annoying brother.
Posted in the "Best Actor nominees for 2012" thread on this earlier @ R 26. (Can't copy & paste from my phone.) Recently someone was trash talking Moonstruck on another thread but SLP should make one recognise what a brilliant film Moonstruck is, comparatively. Lawrence is an absolute star, for sure, but Cooper doesn't really deliver. In a season that includes Joaquin Phoenix's performance in The Master, Cooper is simply adequate. There's not one moment when he seems at all unhinged or truly dangerous. It was all so safe. I wanted to like it more than I did, given all the talent involved but in the end it was pretty mediocre.
http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax-v1.4.html%23page:showThread%2C12096209%2C2
R19 here. Jennifer Lawrence was very good. I can see so many actresses in her age group who could Not give that performance. But she had the chops. But I do see another actress that could have done well at the role and that would be Mila Kunis. I don't see Weaver getting a nom. De Niro yes. Lawrence probably. Cooper-GG nom but not an AA.
[quote]I thought Weaver underplayed very effectively in all of her scenes with DeNiro, Cooper,and Lawrence. Her reading of the "It's all under control" line was classic. Still, it's no competition with what Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams and Sally Field get to do in their respective films.
Bradley looks almost butch here.
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[quote]Saw it at the Toronto Film Festival and loved it. It also won the Peoples Choice Award, which has a solid track record for picking best picture winners (King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, Crash).
The trailer looks interesting. How big is Jennifer Lawrence's role?
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DLj5_FhLaaQQ
I haven't seen it yet, but it has to be better than Lincoln, which has a boring vanity project.
I know Bradley Cooper is gaining some momentum in this category and I'm sure he'll get a Golden Globe (Comedy) nomination but, having just seen this film, I'm not so sure about an Oscar nomination. I think it's going to be a bit like Shakespeare In Love - the charismatic young actress who shines will walk with the trophy where the (possibly bland) pretty boy lead doesn't get nominated. Especially since there are so many strong contenders for Best Actor this year. I mean, it would be an absolute crime if Cooper was nominated and Joaquin Phoenix wasn't. To me, Cooper just lacks gravitas. He gives an acceptable performance that never really has a life of its own - playing someone who is bi-polar with a weak grasp on reality, there's very little in the way of fire in his performance. I never felt there was any real danger in Cooper's performance, either to himself or other characters. And the film is constrained by Cooper's limitations as an actor - most of the other performers have to play at a lower, more subdued level because he's just not that intimidating. Weaver and DeNiro do brilliant work but imagine how much more heartbreaking their performances would be if their son, played by Cooper, actually displayed a mental state as unhinged as Phoenix is in The Master? Cooper is like a soft plush toy; the whole movie feels safe because he's just an actor playing a tortured soul, giving a completely soulless performance. Lawrence, on the other hand, would seem to have no concerns about "acting" like a crazy person and gives a fearless, soulful performance that leaves Cooper in the dust - the only thing holding her back is the script. It works in her advantage anyway; when she goes toe to toe with DeNiro, both he and the film LIGHT UP! and as they inhabit the same frame in a medium shot it becomes abundantly clear who the stars of this film are. And if there is a "coup de theatre" in this film - and I think there is - it relies completely on Lawrence as a performer (and a tiny bit on Russell). That the script is squarely concerned with Cooper's protagonist and not more reasonably concerned with Lawrence in the third act is to its detriment, leaving Silver Linings Playbook to go through the motions of the destiny it seems so certain of from the start. Enjoyable but with a lot of missed opportunities. Best Actor seems a bit of a stretch.
R28
Did anyone see the trailer for "beautiful creatures" during this film? It has Viola Davis, Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons and it looks horrendous!! Why do actors of such stature do these films?
R35--Most mentally ill people are not dangerous. Cooper captured well the the erratic and befuddled behavior of a bipolar man who is medicated and seeing a therapist. Your notion of having an unhinged, undisciplined, and tortured Phoenix-like performance in this movie is silly. You do realize that the movie was supposed to be a comedy-drama, right?
Burst onto the scene? Jackie Weaver has been part of the Australian film and tv establishment for 100 years.
[quote]Lawrence is on a roll Dinner, Porterhouse, or Tootsie?
Does Bradley present his man ass?
R37, you're exactly the type of person this film is meant to appeal to - someone who will eat their lukewarm, lumpy porridge and not complain. In the film I saw, he supposedly had a restraining order and spent 8 months in a state mental institution as a plea bargain for doing grevious bodily harm to another man. Aside from that I meant "dangerous" in a performance sense of being unpredictable which Cooper certainly isn't. His early ranting on Hemingway just walking back and forth in front of the camera is some of the most pedestrian acting I've seen on screen for a while. Playing "crazy" while translating to the audience that there is nothing wrong with you is not only a hoary old cliche but also a cop-out. He is adequate and soulless in the role. His attraction to Lawrence isn't all that believable which has less to do with who he is as a person and everything to do with who he is as a performer - very safe. It's a big screen romance writ small. Lawrence, on the other hand, has real fire and when she starts to go off near film's end there is no telling what she might do. Shame she's so quickly reigned in by the screenplay.
Wow, I don't get the love. Two hours of people screaming and yelling at each other is not my idea of a good time at the movies. SLP may be commended for trying to update the screwball comedy, but it gave me a splitting headache. But, then, so did "The Fighter."
R41-Could you please REIN in your overwrought dislike of this film and any positive comments that others make. Also, "lumpy porridge" and "cop-out" and "hoary old cliche" are terms some prissy queen would have used in the 20th century.
It's well-directed and well-acted, but I thought it perpetuates the tired Hollywood notion that love can conquer mental illness.
I wish I thought there was something romantic about bipolar.
bipolar
I just saw it. It was wonderful.
Film is good enough. Performances -all around - are outstanding.
With The Hobbit, Les Miserables, Argo & Lincoln, I seriously doubt that Silver Linings Playbook has any chance of winning. But they will likely nominate it for one of the ten best pictures. Look for Hyde Park on the Hudson, the FDR movie with Bill Murray, to get a lot of attention/nominations. Beasts of the Southern Wild, Sessions, maybe even Anna Karenina.
I also saw it over the weekend. I was expecting a lot more from the movie. Best scene is Lawrence fighting De Niro. I will be very surprised if Lawrence wins Best Actress, she is great but that is not an Oscar Winning role (but then again Sandra Bullock won for that PoS).
I agree with R49. I saw the film today and though like others I thought Jennifer Lawrence gave an outstanding performance, I think if she does win the Oscar, 50% of it will be for "Winter's Bone," not just her work here. The Academy loves to go back and check past nominees off their we-owed-you list and this would be one of those, in my humble opinion. But yes, she was excellent as was DeNiro. As for Cooper, I tend to agree more with R28/35 -- a good performance but some of it felt more like Acting Exercises 101, How to Play a Mental Patient While Still Looking Good for the Camera. I also agree that while Jacki Weaver is a great actress and was good here, there wasn't enough to the role to warrant a nomination, let alone a win (or maybe she'll get nominated if the film sweeps up a bunch of them but I can't see her taking it home). And Chris Tucker's role was pretty much pointless, good only for paying a few of his bills.
I saw it today and much enjoyed it for the acting and ensemble chemistry. I agree that Lawrence, Weaver, and De Niro were delightful. However, I'm unable to accept this film as particularly profound. Or...really profound at all. The fact that the two leads basically have the inconvenient-but-not-deadly mental illness obstacles, yet not really any other significant limits or social challenges to them, rather negates any deeper meaning for me. The onscreen white/pretty/financially comfortable/heterosexual couple with limitless time on their hands and a bond over Axis I does not enthuse me in the least at this point. It's reached for something bigger than it is for many, many years now. As far as the delivery of mental illness romance themes, I think I still prefer South Korea's "I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK!"
R43, fuck off. If your knowledge of prissy queens (look in the mirror) is anything like your knowledge of mental illness than we can all safely ignore you.
R41 is correct. And this movie actually doesn't supply anything new or interesting. The performances, with the exception of Cooper's, were good. His was just marginally better compared to other roles he's played. I'm not sure what the audience was supposed to "get" from the film. If it was supposed to be heartwarming optimism, things don't quite stack up.
[*Spoilers*]The movie doesn't really start to work until the final act, with the betting parlay and the dance contest. The amusing irony of the contest and the terrific performances are not enough to make it a great movie. Lawrence, De Niro and Cooper are outstanding, but it's basically a fairly enjoyable mess of film.
so-sue-me
I'm hoping to see it today, so I'll let you know !!
It's this year's Descendents.
[quote]I thought Jennifer Lawrence gave an outstanding performance, I think if she does win the Oscar, 50% of it will be for "Winter's Bone," not just her work here. Agree. Despite the fact that for once in my life, I was rooting for Michelle Williams that year. Lawrence's character may have had juicer given circumstances and rendered a more precocious performance, but MW brought some heartbreaking and realistic shit into that pedestrian Blue Valentine role, and pulled off quite a demeanor shift.
I just saw it. I wanted to like Jennifer Lawrence in this role but I think she was miscast; she's just too young (15 years between her and Bradley!). She doesn't seem like someone who would have gone through all the things her character went through. Someone on another thread said her character in the novel is 36! The age difference was enough of a distraction for me that I thought it took away from the effectiveness of the movie.
Silver Linings Playbook = Moonstruck for guys
The film just received 5 Independent Spirit nominations. David Russell was nominated twice (direction and screenplay) and both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper received acting nods.
Come to think of it, it didn't feel like an independent film to me.
[quote]Does anyone think it has a chance to win Best Picture? It depends entirely on what Jay Weston, Publisher of Jay Weston's Restaurant Newsletter, thinks of it.
LOVED IT, BRAVO!!
[quote]both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper received acting nods But DeNiro, interestingly enough, was overlooked for supporting actor.
At the critics' screening in Vegas, I sensed concern that the audience wouldn't really "get it," as it's a non-traditional film.
Can someone from Philly tell me what Jacki Weaver's character was making, "home mades" or something. What is that?
Saw it last night, thought Bradley Cooper was very good. It was annoyingly typical for a straight guy screenwriter / director, however, that so much is made of how Cooper's character has lost so much weight and we have countless jogging & working out scenes, yet we never, never see him less than 100% fully clothed from head to toe. Stupid. Yes, Jennifer Lawrence is good but she's just this year's Juno. Critics and indie types always go gaga over the latest raspy voiced, sullen quirky tough girl with the gooey center. Meet this year's model. Robert DeNiro is still doing Meet the Fockers. If you like him doing that kind of schtick, you get lots of it here. The scene where DeNiro melts down blaming Cooper for everything bad that's happened, and the therapist is just sitting in the background like a clueless mute - I mean COME ON. The mother is good. It would have been better to leave the brother off-screen, once he comes in, all of the scenes involving him are eye-rollingly stupid. I was involved in the beginning and the end, even though the end is so predictable and contrived. The middle 40% swings back & forth between boring / repetitive/ getting on my nerves and interesting. They easily could have cut this movie by 20 - 30 minute; it could use it.
R67--What did you think of Chris Tucker?
Chris Tucker plays his part well and is amusing, but his character is really just sort of pointless, hahaha that guy is crazy, isn't that cute.
I enjoyed the movie but not as much as I expected given some of the reviews. I do agree this isn't really an "oscar role", but I wouldn't be surprised to see Jennifer Lawrence win. Her part is actually fairly underwritten if you just consider the script but she inhabits it beautifully. I never once questioned that she was too young because she made me believe it. Good work. Cooper was fine, sometimes he was clearly trying really hard to act but still he did his role well. The story does have some problems and I was rolling my eyes at the whole parlay of the Eagles and the Dance competition, also some things they do with the therapist character are pretty stupid. Still, good performances rescue this movie and I still enjoyed it.
Though I did like the movie coming out of it last week, the more I think about it now, it was just okay, not great, and I don't really get all the critical raves about it. As R69 states, the ending is contrived and Bradley Cooper's performance, though good, is simply not worthy of an Oscar nod (just my opinion). Frankly, I think the fact Jennifer Lawrence is in this is what's making all the difference regarding the critics' reaction. Somehow I doubt, had Tiffany been played by Jennifer Aniston, that this would've been viewed as anything more than it is -- an above-average TV movie that wandered into 2012 from 1973.
Give Jennifer Lawrence the Oscar damnit!
R66, "Home Mades," a version of "Made Rights," or "loose meat sandwiches," are ground meat seasoned in a specific way and served on a bun, or to save money, between slices of bread. Each regional area has there own preferences in choosing fresh chopped or dried onions and condiments added during the preparation. It's supposedly easier to make and tastier than the standard hamburger patty.
Yeah, that's accurate, R71. I agree with all similar posts.
Comparisons of the critical response to Lawrence in this movie and to Ellen Page in Juno are really unfair. Lawrence has already been nominated for Best Actress for Winter's Bone and has had a big box office hit (Hunger Games). Lawrence is not really This Year's Model and has already demonstrated considerably more range than Page has.
Saw it last night and me and my bf both fell asleep. Bradley was good, but the story was dull and it was all too shouty. And the sports stuff made it worse, because we're not American and I didn't know what they were talking about.
R76 Thank you for mentioning the shouting. Mercy.
R76 and R77: obviously not from Philly and more importantly, never been to an Eagles game.
Shouting is an art form here.
[quote]...even though the end is so predictable and contrived. Agreed, R67. And with a huge whiff of Little Miss Sunshine. The SLP ending was so poorly staged and rushed, it was somebody forgot to tell Russell he was making a romantic comedy. Lawrence and Cooper definitely deserved a better scene when they make their feelings know to each other. It was better in the first Bridget Jones.
National Board of Review just named it as one of the top ten films of the year. More surprisingly, they gave the Best Screenplay Award to David Russell and Best Actor to Bradley Cooper.
National Board of Review gave the Best Actor Award to Clooney for The Descendants last year. The Oscar, as we all know, went to Jean Dujardin. Or however you spell it. There were several performances much better than Bradley Cooper's for this film. But those other films don't have the ruthless ambition of David O Russell in combination with Harvey Weinsten. The National Board of Review is very insular.
Insular, r81 ? Nuts is more like it.
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro all received SAG nominations today and the movie was cited for Best Ensemble.
Oh, look. A rom-com that appeals to hipsters.
[quote]Dinner, Porterhouse, or Tootsie? A Porterhouse is a steak. Perhaps you meant Parker House? I just saw SLP and enjoyed it, but the ending made me nervous ... what if that couple has children?
[quote]I just saw SLP and enjoyed it, but the ending made me nervous ... what if that couple has children? Exactly, and that touches upon why I don't like the movie for itself (I enjoyed the performances). Things don't work that way.
It's an incredibly stupid movie that hardly masks David O. Russel's deep hatred of women. Jackie Weaver is wasted. Jennifer Lawrence is charming, I guess, but there is no reality to her thing with Cooper - the movie sells us a happy ending, but Zcooper plays an angry violent white guy who is fixated on his angry violent dad and his fantasy of a non-existent woman. The movie touches on real issues without knowing that it's doing it. The plot is incoherent and full of holes. It sentimentalizes and condescends to lower middle class people. No one remotely sounds like they're from Phikadelphia, where the movie is set. The cutesy "Apu"-ish shrink is an insulting stereotype. Awful film.
I pretty much agree, R87, but I don't really think that the lower middle class was totally responsible for eating it up. Prestigious celebrities and executive entertainment artists/personnel genuinely love the film, and were kissing its ass on Twitter, etc. Even ones who claim to be feminists or have open minds were doing so. Yet, the film does nothing but plug two people who are advantaged in every way except their mental health issues. There was even a well-attended fucking GALA for the film in Hollywood, earlier in December. But it's very true that the movie brings up sore and real issues, yet reduces these things to being answered with romantic love. At the same time, it seems to want to sell itself as more than a rom-com. I'm intrigued by the whole thing, in a weird way.
Interesting, but not unexpected Hollywood whitewash. I have family with bi-polar I, and I am bi-polar II myself, so I probably couldn't watch this without being pissed off and walking out. I probably wouldn't be able to suspend disbelief enough to even experience the rom-com element. Russell had one hell of a BPD, alcoholic mother --he's never gotten over it. He's also disturbed himself.
FINALLY saw it today. Surprised at how crowded the theater still was. It wasn't what I expected at all (I thought it was all going to be much 'darker'), but I thought it was well done and enjoyed it a lot.
I thought Lawrence was wonderful, and I found her completely overrated and overpraised for her one-note performance in Winter's Bone. I thought all the performances in SLP were very good,barring DeNiro's friend who was distractingly bad.
I think it would be cool to make a similar movie that IS quite a bit darker, R90. But, then again, Hollywood is a notorious spoiler of things...so maybe not.
I know I will get beat down for this, but I agree that J law was too young for the role. She was effective in the role but not oscar worthy. Angelina would have brought it home! She orginally read for the role but the director wanted to go with the latest it girl. It was good, but not great. Besides, we know that AJ can play crazy okayyyyyyy?
R93, I wouldn't beat you down at all for that opinion. I forget, did it say how old the character was? Either way, JL looks 21-22, and it's not likely (to put things conservatively) that someone like her, in her 20s or even older, would find an everlasting storybook romance...even if the circumstances are supposed to be unrealistic.
Really looking forward to see it!!! Love the soundtrack too especially ho hey by the Lumineers.
In the book Tiffany was 36, I think. I would have liked to see Elizabeth Banks in the role instead. Maybe Kirsten Dunst or Rachel McAdams. Anne Hathaway was originally cast as Tiffany. Can you imagine what she would have been like if she'd been up for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress?
I saw Zero Dark Thirty this weekend; it has be to be the most overrated movie of the year. If Jessica Chastain wins for Best Actress over Jessica Lawremce, I'd wager that the rumors of Chastain being Ronnie Howard's daughter are true.
2 hours with 2 mental patients was 2 much for me. I went in with high hopes but I was bored, restless and uncomfortable with what was happening on the screen.
What does iirc mean?
if I recall correctly
The problem with Angelina is that she's so other worldly (and now so fucking thin) she can't play blue collar, regular woman parts. Would you buy her as a firefighter's widow, down on her luck, living in her parents house, no job, depressed and taking a dance class for kicks? Yeah, no. Rachel McAdams is too bright and sunny. I don't think she plays angst well.
Of all the celebrities we know of who auditioned, I suppose JLaw does resemble any random young woman you'd find at an upper-class rehab or 12 Step meeting, so that was a fit. But since it would be such a stretch for the romance to work out, particularly at her age, that's why I can only watch it as another sappy romantic comedy with about 2 or 3 better-than-usual performances in it.
Saw this last night and was somewhat under whelmed as a result of all the praise that's been heaped upon it. Jennifer Lawrence is a terrific young actor, but the fact that she's shaping up to be the favorite for this year's Best Actress category just exemplifies that 2012 was a really weak year for female lead roles and I would place her subsequent win in the Helen Hunt/Reese Witherspoon/Sandra Bullock column of "luck as a result of weak competition" winners. The real awards race this year is in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories.
...I not-so-secretly don't think it deserves a "Best Picture" consideration.
Webmaster--If there any way you could arrange a "Wellness Check" for R.41 tonight? I am very concerned with how he is going to react to all the Oscar nominations today. This might just push him over the edge.
R41 supports his opinion pretty well, I think.
R.41--Oh, I mean R.106--Good to hear that you are holding up okay.
No, you mean R106. You cute little sheep, you.
R106
It is one of my least favorite films in recent memory. I though Deniro was awful, the "crabby snacks" mother was one note, the Jennifer L character looked and acted like a child, completely age-inappropriate to douchey Cooper, and the script was maudlin. "Liz and Dick" was more intellectually honest than the SLP dreck. For the record, I can watch ANYTHING and usually find something to enjoy about it. SLP completely offended me, it was insulting both emotionally and intellectually. If you are trying to do smart family drama, you have to do it well. "Ordinary People" it is not.
Just saw this, and I am actually shocked about how much love it’s gotten by way of noms from the Academy. The performances are good, but not great, and the film is kind of a mess. I agree with most of the criticism posted in this thread. I can only put all the Academy love down to Fatty Weinstein’s Oscar Push Machine. Jennifer Lawrence was good, but I agree with the poster up-thread who suggested that if she gets the Oscar it will be partly because she didn’t get it for “Winter’s Bone,” in which she was excellent (and which was a far superior film).
Count me as one who doesn't get the SLP raves. Just saw it. Why would anyone want to spend two or more hours with those 4 neurotic main characters?! The peripheral characters were actually more interesting and really good acting there -- John Ortiz, the psychiatrist, actor playing Cooper's brother, even Julia Stiles. Lawrence is proving she's a major talent, no question about that. I hope she doesn't become totally identified with The Hunger Games crap because from Winter's Bone she has shown she is special, different, really talented. Just don't get the fuss over SLP though.
Saw this last night and liked it much more than i thought i would. I thought the trailer looked schmalzy and cliched, but i don' t think the movie was. In the wrong hands it could have been awful, but i do think that David O Russell directs it really, really well and the performances (including Bradley Cooper's) are great. Surprised that jackie Weaver got nominated though as she didn't have that much to do. I kept waiting for her big oscar scene, but it never came. It's no masterpiece and it pisses me off that some people think it is making a serious point about mental illness, but it is a good entertaining movie and it made me laugh. I rarely laugh out loud at movies, being more of a wry smile sort, but i did at this. Not convinced by Jennifer Lawrence's nomination. she is good in it, but don't think it is particularly oscar worthy. I know i am in minority but I actually liked Cooper's performance more. Her body is banging though.
Loved it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DapUFPkjIoSc
[quote]Silver Linings Playbook = Moonstruck for guys I can see it
And%20I%20love%20Moonstruck
[quote]It's no masterpiece and it pisses me off that some people think it is making a serious point about mental illness These are mostly the things that spoiled it for me. And all the cool rich people in entertainment think that we all MUST love everything about it, and there is something wrong with a person who doesn't. If it hadn't been hyped, I probably would have enjoyed it more.
Bradley was cute in it. I wanted to pat his head and say there there....things will get better.
A true testament to the power of marketing. It just seemed like every other, paint by numbers drama out there. Jennifer Lawrence was really good, but the amount of Oscar nominations for this movie was ridiculous.
LOL. It's a little suspicious that basically EVERYONE who's "anyone" in socialite culture or pop culture tweeted about this movie....................*eyeroll*. It's probably just because all those people are insecure and desperate to remain hip with each other, but still. One has to cringe.
I saw it yesterday... I didn't love it, but I liked it a lot. I think my opinions are in the minority. I, too, thought JLaw was miscast. She was too young for me to believe she was this battle scarred, emotionally troubled widow. Like someone upthread said, I could have seen Mila Kunis is the role. I also don't get this OTT praise for her performance. I thought she was good and had nice chemistry with BCooper, but she didn't blow me away like I expected after reading reviews. I never liked Cooper that much, but he and DeNiro were the standouts for me. The supporting cast were all very good. I do think the therapist situations were a little contrived and ridiculous. I agree with whoever said the ending was rushed.
I just saw it and loved it and was blown away by Jennifer Lawrence. She is definitely the futur Meryl Streep. Also, thought the music was great. Good movie. Original, which so few things are these days.
I hated this film and everyone who saw it with me hated it, too. I love BC, and I could watch him pick his nose for two hours, but I wanted to walk out of the cinema after the first half hour. It was truly cringe-worthy.
Ciaran
I liked this movie a lot but I never would have guessed it would get Oscar nominations. The acting was very good but it's definitely getting weirdly overpraised.
[quote]I love BC Not more than me
Ciaran? GO RAVENS!!!!
The movie's message appears to be that true love cures mental illness. Oh, and was I the only one that thought the scene with Cooper and his wife ripped off the end of Lost in Translation?
[quote] Bradley was cute in it. I wanted to pat his head and say there there....things will get better. Right before I pushed him down to his knees so he could suck my cock...
Fuck iTunes, fuck iTunes right in the ass. I'm taking the old fashioned DVD to a friend's house to watch SLP but I have fucked with the apple beast for three hours trying to watch 'Marigold Hotel'. Fuck SAGAFTRA and their unholy alliance with iTunes. Fuck 'em all.
She's a little gayling, no? Jennifer Lawrence?
Saw it yesterday and I liked Bradley Cooper's performance, but I think overall this film would only appeal to a fairly narrow audience. For all the talk and award nominations it has received it hasn't done that well at the box office ($55 million after ten weeks).
***SPOILERS,I GUESS*** I thought the staging of the dance contest was pretty well flubbed. The reveal just made me think of Little Miss Sunshine and it was poorly ripped-off. The whole thing just became completely divorced from any credible reality, with the scoring, audience response, etc. Russell getting a Best Director nomination when he totally choked on how to stage the climatic romantic moment when Cooper chases her down the street and expresses his love for her - it was so limp and rushed and unengaging. The most interesting part was when she started to freak out at the dance competition, drinking and accepting drinks from that guy at the bar - I thought, okay, here we go...but no, it quickly became predictable. I wanted to see Tiffany really unravel, and not in service to Cooper's well being. It wasn't to be. Lawrence is the best thing in it, by far. When she goes toe to toe with DeNiro, I just thought, "I'd really like to see just these two in a movie." Weinstein appears to have botched the release with too long of a platform. It'll no doubt do well on DVD.
I too am perplexed over the raves this movie has gotten. I saw it last night and wanted to gouge my eyeballs out. The first hour seemed endless and the neatly wrapped ending did not fit with the rest of the movie. It was so bogged down with overkill at one point I turned to my partner and said, "all right, we get it, he's bipolar". The performances were good for the most part. Cooper was ok but certainly no where near Oscar worthy. He has a sort of emptiness in every role he plays. Yes, he yelled alot, and was crazy when he needed to be but I never believed him in the role. It lacked heart and compassion. DeNiro was great and I think he should be considered for an Oscar. Jennifer Lawrence was also very good.
I liked it but didn't love it. I cannot understand why Bradley Cooper got nominated for a SAG and an Oscar. DeNiro's character is nothing new. We've seen it before only this time, he's obsessed w/ the Philadelphia Eagles. JL was great, as always, but I've seen her in better things. I liked Jackie Weaver a lot...
r132 I would agree about DeNiro except that there was one scene where he was expressing emotion for his son and crying that I have not seen for a long time from him. That was the only thing in this awful movie that stayed with me and moved me.
I hate it when BC's character says to JL's character that he thinks he loved her from the moment he met her. That totally pisses on what we've known about his character-the guy was still desperately in love with his wife when he met this girl. What a Hollywood cop out. That alone is why it doesn't deserve Best Picture. Sorry, Harvey.
Lynn%20Stairmaster
I watched SLP again last night and I'm even more convinced that it's a better and more relevant movie than Lincoln.
Bret Easton Ellis
I am so hoping that DeNiro pulls an upset and beats out Tommy Lee Jones. Tommy Lee already has an Oscar that should have gone to DiCaprio (Gilbert Grape) in 1993.
Silver Lining Playbook came across like a Lifetime TV Movie to me. Okay, but not Oscar worthy.
R.137-Could you give us the name of the last Lifetime movie that you watched?
Just saw it last week and loved it. It is the only picture I have seen this season that I want to see again. The cast was amazing and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were perfection together. For some reason I could see this as a vehicle for Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine if it had been made around 1960. DeNiro and the whole supporting cast was great. I would pick it for Best Picture but I think Argo will take that.
Anonymous
R41 is one of those drama people who have a need to insult anyone who is entertained by something they hate.
Anonymous
What does the title mean?
Bradley, Robert Deniro and David O. were on Katie Couric today, talking about mental disorders and it got emotional. Former Senator Ted Kennedy came out later and discussed his battle with bipolar disorder.
Did Ted Kennedy come back from the dead for the interview? That's really something!
[quote][R41] is one of those drama people who have a need to insult anyone who is entertained by something they hate But doing a poor job at it
"reigned"? REALLY?!
In no way should the deeper end of this film's theme transfer to real life. What a sick marketing game. In my opinion, everyone should just let it be a funny and/or cute movie.
Whoops, R143, I meant Patrick Kennedy!
R142
I saw the interview with Patrick Kennedy. Yeesh. He yells when he talks and seems totally unhinged, even when he's on his meds. Though I guess at least he doesn't look so fat...
Yes, it could win. Ballots are due back the Tuesday before Oscar Sunday. There is a huge television campaign for the film now. I think it will impact voting.
Edga
(Spoilers included) Saw it yesterday and dug up this thread. Some observations: I hear the carping that Jacki Weaver's role is small, yet Anne Hathaway's scenery chewing role in "Les Mis" is even smaller, isn't it? I know one straight, hot, bi-polar guy and he acts exactly like the Cooper character, when medicated and not, so I have to disagree with those who say he's not crazy enough. I really can't see any 36 year old woman living Tiffany's life. Haven't read the book, but it would seem dropping her age down makes sense. And I really liked the ending, sappy as it was. The couple's dance routine was adorable in its awfulness. And there really was a surprise at the end of it for me. I had no idea that he knew she wrote the letters. Great movie, perhaps not. Enjoyable way to spend a couple of wintry hours? Absolutely.
I also enjoyed this film more than Argo, Lincoln and Les Miz.
Is this the movie starring Bradley Cooper and Gabourey Sidibe?
Second only to Les Miserables as the greatest movie of 2012. Hollywood is finally getting it right. Now if it just wins...
I saw this last night and freaking loved it. Was never much of a fan of Bradley Cooper, but thought he was perfect. Didn't know who Jennifer Lawrence was, and liked her a lot. Apparently some of my friends found the movie offensive the way they make light of mental illness but that wasn't how I saw it. If anything, it's perfect timing for the way our society is all on some kind of pill or anti-depressant now. Somebody posted that there was a lot of yelling - which can get tiresome and was a little bit grating but overall quirky, endearing flick that left me actually feeling great (while I was alone on the couch with my cat) on Valentine's Day!
Even it this doesn't win Best Picture, momentum continues to build for Lawrence and DeNiro.
Roger Ebert reported that more and more people have told him that they are voting for Silver Lining and that the Bradley Cooper character reminds voters of their brother-in-law.
Though I for one always love a good upset, if Bradley Cooper beats DDL for Best Actor, that will be the biggest joke in the history of the Oscars, even worse than "Crash" winning Best Picture.
Lots of buzz seems to center on this winning multiple awards (director, picture, deniro, original screenplay, weaver, in that order) that would be surprises. I really liked the movie, but thought the mental illness treatment was problematic, and the deniro performance unimpressive. It would be funny as hell if it wins four Oscars, but not Jennifer Lawrence (so much talk about Riva, Naomi Watts, and even Chastain, whom a lot of people are still voting for to protest the protests against her film).
Saw it today. Enjoyed it, even though it was hard to watch sometimes, since I have a bipolar person in my life. I liked Jennifer Lawrence, but that wasn't an Oscar winning performance to me. In my opinion, DeNiro is the only one deserving the Oscar from the cast. He was excellent.
Just won Spirit Awards for Best Picture, Actress, and Director. I think that it has a real shot now of upsetting Argo and Lincoln.
Enjoyed it until it derailed into that dance competition hokum.
Finally watched the DVD. I gave up after about 50 minutes. Absolutely nothing funny or charming about this loser waking up his parents over and over in the middle of the night. It didn't even make me curious about him. I just wanted to turn it off. So I did. Dreadful, unfunny characters. Was it supposed to be a rom-com?
Saw tonight on DVD too. Boy I gotta say I hated it. But I hated "The Fighter" too. Didn't care at all these characters. They yell a lot and Jacki Weaver might be a lovely lady and fine actress, but she did absolutely nothing to warrant an Academy Award nomination. Every year there's a small picture like "Juno" and "Little Miss Sunshine" that the critics cream all over and gets numerous Oscar noms and the unwashed masses see it and say WTF? This is this year's WTF.