Director: David O. Russell
MPAA Rating: R
Film Pulse Score: 4/10
I may be alone, but I did not like this film. Seeing Silver Linings Playbook after it was nominated for eight Academy Awards was a shame because I spent two hours being angry – angry about those nominations and the fact that they took eight spots from other worthy films and filmmakers. One consolation is that it is unlikely to win any Oscars. The film is the most overrated, overly-hyped movie of 2012 and one of the year’s biggest disappointments. Marketed by the Weinstein Company as a deep, revelatory piece of comic genius, Playbook is little more than a romantic comedy that has benefited from a sleight of hand that fooled critics and awards groups into thinking the film was the “second coming.” I did not find it to be insightful, creative, original, interesting, powerful, or even remotely entertaining. If justice and reason prevail one day, it will be recognized as a film mistakenly applauded by the people who, as the saying goes, “drank the Kool-Aid.”
David O. Russell’s messy script is based on Matthew Quick’s novel of the same name. It tells the story of a thirty-something bipolar school teacher named Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) who serves an eight-month sentence in a psychiatric institution and then finds himself “sprung” by his mother, Dolores (Jacki Weaver), more-or-less against doctors’ advice but with the court’s permission. Pat “lost it” one day when he arrived home and found his wife Nikki (Brea Bee) in the shower with a fellow teacher. He is completely delusional, convinced that he can find the “silver linings” on life’s bumpy road including a belief that his wife has been eagerly awaiting his release, ready to welcome him back with open arms once he proves himself to her. Dolores agrees that she and her husband, Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) will be responsible for their son. Half of the film focuses on Pat’s relationship with his parents, particularly with his father who has his own mental issues including undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder and an almost unnatural preoccupation with Philadelphia’s professional sports teams. As a woman seemingly stuck in 1950s housewife mode, Dolores means well but she is not much help as she simultaneously indulges and ignores her husband’s and son’s issues and behavior.
Into Pat’s life comes Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who suffers from her own loose screws. She takes an instant liking to him and we know the feeling is mutual although he denies any attraction; after all, he is only interested in winning back his estranged wife and sorting himself out. The hapless, damaged, and unhappy Tiffany decides to emotionally blackmail Pat by agreeing to get a letter to Nikki if Pat helps her by becoming her dance partner for a local freestyle contest. The film paints Tiffany as a local slut who we assume was that way in high school, then became a good wife during her marriage to a recently-deceased cop, and finally reverted back to a slut when he died. So, the other half of the film focuses on Pat and Tiffany’s odd relationship. While synopses and reviews suggest their relationship is unconventional, it actually follows a very predictable path so much so that the story goes out of its way to make their encounters and interactions seem more fraught with emotion and drama than they really are.
I have not read Quick’s novel, but I seriously doubt that Quick had such physically attractive people in mind when creating the characters of Pat Jr. and Tiffany (the film actually stresses the fact that Pat lost a lot of weight and had buffed up in the mental institution). Cooper and Lawrence overcompensate by overacting nearly every scene; there are few if any natural or real moments in their performances. They are not alone. De Niro and Weaver – two great actors who have done stellar work in other films – provide almost caricature-like creatures. De Niro and Weaver play their roles in such a way that I imagined a sports-loving Travis Bickle had grown old, moved to the suburbs, and married Donna Reed in some alternate universe. The actors are not entirely to blame. Russell’s meandering, repetitive script is full of unbelievable and unnecessary characters and situations. Also, there is nothing about Playbook that required any real directing and the directing that is on display is pretty bad. Russell’s Oscar nomination for Best Director is the Academy’s worst mistake not only of 2012’s nominees but perhaps one of the worst in the Academy’s history. Just think, he took a spot away from one of three extraordinarily directed films and three incredibly powerful directorial efforts: the work of Kathryn Bigelow on Zero Dark Thirty, Quentin Tarantino on Django Unchained, and Golden Globe winner Ben Affleck on Argo. If this film has finally come to your area, I would only suggest seeing it to better appreciate the truly great films of 2012.
Yes, Adam and Kevin, in response to the 1/21 podcast, I did give this movie a 4/10. The 3/10 was a typo. At one point, it was a 5/10, but never any higher. Why does it get the same rating as BAYTOWN OUTLAWS? I follow Roger Ebert’s long-held position that films’ ratings aren’t comparable from film to film, but based on the film in-and-of itself, particularly in light of what it’s meant to do or meant to be. So, when looking back at my review of BAYTOWN, we see the 4/10 was due to the performances of the three actors playing the brothers and the characters they played. Why is PLAYBOOK a 4/10? Because it was written and directed by David O. Russell and had the talents of Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence, and failed (in my opinion) at doing or being what it was meant to do or be. Is it a better film than BAYTOWN? Absolutely — by leaps and bounds. But is it even moderately successful given its pedigree, potential, and hype? No.
I agree with you and hope you realize that we were merely ‘ribbing’ you (I cannot tell with the internet). If you recall I actually gave ‘Gangster Squad’ a 4/10 as well, so I could have said the same about myself. I am actually quite pleased that you do not ‘drink the Kool-Aid’ when it came to ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ because I, too, had several problems with this film. I think we can agree that ‘Baytown Outlaws’ is awful.
Of course. I thought I’d just use the comment above as an opportunity to make a more general statement about my approach to reviewing films. BAYTOWN was awful, but I found myself focusing on what was remotely good about it. With PLAYBOOK, on the other hand, I found myself focusing on what was bad about it; I’m sure with a second look, I’d find something to appreciate. I’ve spent some time wondering why critics found so much to love here — maybe it’s as you and Adam suggested as far as one positive thing goes: that Robert De Niro was in a “good” movie after years of horrible choices. PLAYBOOK remains disappointing because it could have been terrific. It could have shown us something unique about mental illness. It could have said something deep and moving about outsiders who find each other and therefore find acceptance in someone else’s eyes and acceptance in their own. It could… Well, you get the idea. I can say this is a film that I would like to remake with a different cast, script, and director.