Silver Linings Playbook

thebloodfiend

Cory
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I saw the movie today and I thought it was pretty damn good. I was actually impressed with Jennifer Lawrence. At first, I was going to pass because the trailers made it out to be one of those bland quirky romantic comedies with a football focus, but those previews were so misleading. Anyone else see it?

How did you feel about the portrayal of mental illness? I thought it was pretty good for the first half, though the movie stereotypes started cutting in for the second. I'm a bit surprised that they only showcased the manic side of bipolar disorder. I thought, for sure, they would've gone a bit into the depression—especially since the MC isn't medicated. Ah, well, I'll only say I liked the romance—which is odd, since I didn't find the MC particularly attractive next to the LI. I might check out the book next.
 

Toothpaste

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I enjoyed it, and I liked how they portrayed the illnesses. It seemed sensitive but not precious. Honest without being melodramatic. My only negative reaction really to the film was how contrived it was. That scene in the living room where they come up with the bet, I could see the writer's brain going, "How do we do this and make it seem natural??" It was just a bit forced and unnecessary.

But in general I really liked it. The writing (not so much the plotting, more like how people expressed themselves), the acting, the way it was filmed. So yeah. Liked it :) .
 

thebloodfiend

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I enjoyed it, and I liked how they portrayed the illnesses. It seemed sensitive but not precious. Honest without being melodramatic. My only negative reaction really to the film was how contrived it was. That scene in the living room where they come up with the bet, I could see the writer's brain going, "How do we do this and make it seem natural??" It was just a bit forced and unnecessary.
Yeah, that scene had me raising my eyebrows as well. I was also a bit upset because I predicted the bit with the (spoiler): letter, and I was like NO, don't make this into one of those horrible Shrek-esque misunderstanding scenes. Thankfully, they didn't go that route, but I don't like figuring things out half an hour before the MC.
But in general I really liked it. The writing (not so much the plotting, more like how people expressed themselves), the acting, the way it was filmed. So yeah. Liked it :) .
The expression was definitely pretty good. Those manic scenes with dude busting into his parents' room, my god. My fav—the scene in the restaurant.
 

Torgo

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(Hey, I have a running joke where I annoy my girlfriend by getting the name of this movie wrong. "River Island Scrapbook" or "Hot Springs Flashback", that sort of thing.

HER: I really want to go and see 'Silver Linings Playbook'
ME: I haven't heard of that. I'd quite like to see that Bradley Cooper movie though - what's it called, 'Killer Wifi Hotspot'?
HER: I'm going to punch you in the cock.

Any other variations on the title gratefully accepted, as I'm kind of running out of gags now, and would love to spin it out a few more weeks.)
 

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I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Like bloodfiend, I thought it was going to be a typical quirky romance movie.

The acting was fantastic, the characters were great, and I left the theater going "wow, that was a good movie."

I predicted the letter thing too. I'm glad it played out differently than I expected, though.
 

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I'll add another voice to the "enjoyed it" camp. I can't say I know enough in RL about mental illness to say whether it's accurate or not, but it seemed like a reasonable, respectable portrayal. I like that Jennifer Lawrence wasn't the "manic-pixie-dream-girl" type. The laugh I had at the ending dance when they go for the big lift and fail charmingly / clumsily was the best laugh I've had in a theater so far this year. I don't even mind that one of this movie's major plot points made me revisit my beloved Cowboys' horrible, horrible season-ending loss to the Eagles a few years ago that I shall now resume never speaking of again...
 

MttStrn

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If you liked the movie, I highly, highly, highly recommend the book by Matthew Quick. As with all adaptions, there are some significant differences but I enjoyed both the film and loved the book even more.
 

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I hated Cooper and Lawrence before I saw this film. I gave them far too little credit. An excellent story, too. One of those movies that I can see coming on cable in the future where nobody ever gets tired of watching it.
 

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Had you seen Winter's Bone with Lawrence before seeing this? She's great in it.
 

thebloodfiend

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Had you seen Winter's Bone with Lawrence before seeing this? She's great in it.
I had not. I'd seen Like Crazy and parts of The Hunger Games and I wasn't terribly impressed—my feelings on her were this: the unfunny Emma Stone. But this movie changed my opinion of her. I actually went straight for Netflix, only to see they'd removed Winter's Bone. Pity, as I didn't know what it was about until yesterday. I was thinking it was similar to The Lovely Bones, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.
 

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I highly recommend Winter's Bone. Then again, I'm a big fan of neo-western / country-noir / whatever the hell they're calling modern, rural, crime stories these days, so my opinion may be a little skewed.
 

Jamiekswriter

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I just finished the book, but I haven't seen the movie yet. I couldn't put it down. It was really great. Definitely reccommend it. It was a quick read, I read it in one night.

Winter's Bone was amazing. I read the book first on that too and it was so good, when I remember the book the scenes from the movie fill in.
 

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I enjoyed it, and I liked how they portrayed the illnesses. It seemed sensitive but not precious. Honest without being melodramatic. My only negative reaction really to the film was how contrived it was. That scene in the living room where they come up with the bet, I could see the writer's brain going, "How do we do this and make it seem natural??" It was just a bit forced and unnecessary.
Yeah; it was as if one of the characters said, "Hey! I just remembered we're in a Hollywood movie, and we have to have some kind of explicable, well-defined 'stakes' for the last act. Now, we are going to stand here and talk about it until we create those stakes out of thin air!"

I liked the earlier scenes; the conversation in the diner was great. The tussle with his dad was truly painful. But it was as if, at a certain point, the movie pulled back from real mental illness into a more comfortable Hollywood version. (I wonder if focus groups caused changes to be made.)

But the acting was really good. (Nice to see Chris Tucker in an offbeat role. I think he's underused in movies, and could carry a straight dramatic role.)

(It's odd how acceptable it is to display obsessive, compulsive, and idiotically aggressive behavior, if it involves organized sports. You could do a good movie about that. Which someone has: I highly recommend Big Fan, starring Patton Oswalt.)
 

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I loved the movie so I'll have to check out the book next! Glad to see it's getting good reviews. Sounds like it will be worth reading.