Since I saw the advertisement on TV, I have been wanting to see Silver Linings Playbook. This offbeat comedy, starring Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), tells the story of two people dealing with emotional problems who decide to work together and help one another out. Cooper, who plays the main character, Pat, has just been released from a mental institution where he has spent the last eight months after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Pat moves in with his parents and tries to rebuild his life and reconnect with his wife, all the while dealing with mood swings and emotional instability. He meets Tiffany (played by Lawrence), who lives on the same street, and after some getting to know each other, she decides to help Pat contact his wife (who has a restraining order against him) if in exchange he promises to be her partner in a dance competition.
Without giving too much away, Silver Linings Playbook really is a great mix of comedy, romance and drama. Both Cooper and Lawrence do a great job of fulfilling their roles of playing emotionally unstable characters, but with the perfect amount of subtlety. They don’t overdo the acting and are incredibly believable in their roles. The name of the film comes from Pat’s philosophy of turning negative energy into fuel and always trying to find the silver lining.
The movie was a great way to escape from my own stressful life and get tangled up in someone else’s crazy and hilarious problems instead, even if they are fake.
But then again, that’s the case with any great movie, right? Though Silver Linings Playbook has it’s stomach-clutching-laugh moments, it is really just a mediocre movie. With the way everything lines up in the end, the movie is actually incredibly cliche.
Despite the predictable ending, the plot was interesting and different and the characters had great on-screen chemistry. If you’re tight on time and money, I’m not sure I’d recommend that you go see Silver Linings Playbook, but if you’re bored and empty-handed, than I’d say go for it! I doubt you’d regret it. At least I don’t.
By Trisha Chaudhary