Review: Silver Linings Playbook

It’s Syllabus Week at DU but the homework is already piling on. For me, de-stressing is best with a bowl of popcorn in my hand

Photo from IMDB.com

and good movie playing. Luckily, there is a plethora of good movies in theatres this season. Digging through the superstar lineup, I chose to see Silver Lining Playbook staring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. This book-to-big-screen movie doesn’t disappoint. It is a dramatic rom-com with talented actors, including Robert DiNero and Jacki Weaver as Cooper’s parents.

The drama starts as Pat Solatano (Cooper) is released from a mental hospital before his doctors are sure he’s ready. Solatano has nothing but memories of his ex-wife and a desire to improve himself upon his departure. He’s sure that his new lifestyle is enough to win back his old spouse, if only she’ll lift the restraining order to marvel at his progress. As he tries to get around the court order, he meets a new friend at an unsuccessful dinner party. The conversation takes off because of a shared hatred of the side affects of the antidepressants that each is being forced to take.

A movie that is neither predictable nor boring lets you watch as a faithful ex-husband blinded by a love that won’t fade begins to learn the best place to invest his heart. The acting is incredible and the plot shows no signs of flat jokes or cliché love scenes that label this movie as a romantic comedy. Instead it is easily in a category all its own.

Silver Lining Playbook is up for awards and I’ll be the first to vote for it. It was definitely worth dipping into my scantily clad bank account to see it on the big screen this season.