David O. Russell's new Pennsylvania-set romantic comedy, Silver Linings Playbook, fits a formula to a tee and enjoys those dramatic settings. Too conventional to provoke and yet not quirky enough to distinguish, the film relishes in the "flawed boy loses girl — flawed boy gets new girl and loses flaws" structure, a standard set many moons ago; if at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again. Using the mental illness of its main character, Pat (played by Bradley Cooper), as a starting point, the screenplay (also scripted by Russell) is less about the sickness than it is about being rejected by those we hold dearest, feeling helpless when our significant other decides to start anew.
Some critics have pointed out that the illness aspect of the movie is dropped once the second half kicks in and builds to one of those tacky "all-or-nothing" climaxes, and while that's true, this is not a film to come to looking for an evening of serious discussion. That being said, there are some pleasures to be had. Bradley Cooper's blunt comedic timing provides some smiles (and Russell pays tribute to one of his star's older films, The Midnight Meat Train, playing at the local movie theater where all hell breaks loose on Halloween night), while Jennifer Lawrence's "never back down" attitude exudes a real independence underneath the character's initial needy exterior. Surprisingly enough, Robert De Niro gives the film some real heart as Pat's Eagles obsessed (and compulsive) father, and it's particularly fun to see him curse out a nosy teenage neighbor interested in mental health for a school project.
The actors almost make the film work, but Russell keeps the whole thing too tidy, too aware of not wanting to piss off a larger audience. Pat's friend in the film provides a glimpse of the trappings of suburbia, of a dead-end marriage destined for oddly set fireplaces and IPods featured in bathrooms. A social critique? By the film's conclusion, it all proves rather nil. What it gets right are the relationships between parents and their children and the inner-workings of American football fanaticism. I'll even commend Russell for working well with his actors — the exposition-heavy scene in which two bets are placed with people's livelihoods on the line somehow works better than it should — but I wish his writing gave them the opportunity to go further. Silver Linings Playbook would find itself right at home released on Valentine's Day weekend, but if you must run to go see it, I'd recommend taking along a garbage bag-made sweater for warmth.
Recommended
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