Pat (Bradley Cooper) is a bipolar man who has spent the past 8 months in a psychiatric hospital after beating his cheating wife’s lover half to death. Upon release, Pat goes to live with his parents, Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) and Dolores (Jacki Weaver) and has every intention of trying to rebuild his life and get back with his wife, Nikki (Brea Bee) despite a restraining order. But, his plans take an interesting twist as he befriends an emotionally disturbed widow, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who claims to want to help him reach his wife, but, possibly has her own agenda. Silver Linings Playbook is written and directed with a nice offbeat style by David O. Russell, based on a book by Matthew Quick, who crafts a nearly perfect film that is both romantic comedy and emotional drama. He gets fantastic performances out of his cast. Lawrence fully deserves her Oscar as her performance is a tour de force portraying the emotionally damaged Tiffany and Cooper is right behind her as the determined but, still slightly delusional Pat. De Niro gives his best performance in years as Pat’s Eagles loving bookie father and Chris Tucker, in a supporting role as a friend of Pat’s from the hospital, gives the performance of his career. Who knew from Friday and the Rush Hour movies that he had such depth. I really have no major faults with this offbeat flick that is filled with emotion, heart and laughs too. It takes a little time to hit it’s stride but, that’s about it. A great movie that has depth and substance to go along with the heartfelt entertainment. Brilliant. ***1/2
MonsterZero NJ's Movie Madhouse 