Why I liked Silver Linings Playbook
Dec. 9th, 2012 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seriousficI actually heard about this one from reading a review by Film Critic Hulk, who had a poor opinion of it. I had the exact opposite reaction, though, and I think it's because I came in with less expectations. FCH, I think, went in expecting an Oscar-worthy look at mental illness and, partly, that's not what it is. It's sort of like how if you just see The Artist, you'll think "Oh, that was fun," but if you hear it won the Oscar for Best Picture, you go "holy shit, are you fucking kidding? That's a goddamn Youtube video about a silent film star stretched out to movie length. Not even an original Youtube video. More of a Singing In The Rain fanfilm."
At the end of the day, Silver Linings Playbook is pretty much a romantic comedy. But it's kind of the same thing director David O. Russell did with The Fighter, where, yeah, it's a sports movie, but it's also a hard-hitting look at drug addiction.
If this whole genre business has any worth at all, it's as categorizing movies in terms of what the audience is looking for. Sometimes, you're in the mood for a comedy, other times a drama; you don't just want to reach into a sack and pull out Platoon when you and your date want to watch something romantic. So SLP is trying to be a romantic comedy and it sets out to do what a romantic comedy does, but it doesn't shit the bed and wag its flaccid dick in your face like a lot of rom-coms do, which is what gives the genre a bad name.
It's like if Warrior and Here Comes The Boom were both contractors you could hire to fix your kitchen. Sure, they're both in the same business, they're both trying to do the same thing, but one comes in, fixes your sink, then goes on to teach your wayward son martial arts to defend against bullies, saves your marriage, even rescues your cat from a house fire. And the other one (the one with Paul Blart) comes in, takes a crap in the sink, swipes some of your Blu-Rays, leers at your teenage daughter, steps on the cat's tail, just all sorts of things going wrong.
By the way, both of the contractors are race-neutral in this example, whatever races you're picturing them as, I don't want you to think it has anything to do with their professionalism.
So, yeah, Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy, but it's a damned good romantic comedy that strives for excellence, and I think tumblr will like it because a substantial amount of the plot is sex-obsessed bisexual Jennifer Lawrence literally chasing down the hero, which is pretty much the only thing fandom could want more than another Harry Potter book. And not monotone Katniss Everdeen J-Law either. The J-Law who talks about peeing.
Some things:
1. I like how, since Bradley Cooper is ridiculously good-looking but is in serious actor mode here, they give him a backstory where he used to look like a human being, but got into great shape. Then Jennifer Lawrence comes in, the woman who according to X-Men canon is literally a younger version of Rebecca Romijin, and just goes "Sup?"
2. Like I said, rom-com, but while no one is a saint, they also don't make anyone a jackass just for E-Z Riting. The worst people in the movie are the guys who are interested in Jennifer Lawrence's character, Tiffany, because she's a nymphomaniac, and none of them are Hollywood jerks who get handsy with her so Bradley Cooper can punch them out and make the audience swoon.
3. If there's a caveat I have, it's that the film pushes down a little hard on the drama button for my taste. I think there's a long stretch of movie where it seems like every conversation leads to a big! dramatic! confrontation! Even a innocuous bit of character-building like Tiffany joking with Bradley Cooper about sleeping with women becomes a big hairy deal five minutes later because she was opening up to him, man! It's like the movie isn't giving itself time to breathe, so I could see that as the film abusing the rom-com license to play things broad. Of course, the hero is suffering from bipolar disorder and interacting with people who have their own issues, so it makes sense.
4. My dad's a big Browns fan, so he's inclined to like any movie where the hero lives in dire fear of being sent to (a mental hospital in) Baltimore.
5. Sophie's Choice for men - dirty dancing with Jennifer Lawrence or going to see the home team play with your family?
ETA: I know Russell was supposed to do an Uncharted movie a while back that sounded very Tim Burton in terms of accuracy, but given the way he's managed to fulfill genre expectations while also giving bonus Oscarness, maybe it would've been good. Still, I can't imagine why he thought Mark Wahlberg would make a good Nate. Bradley Cooper here would be lightyears better.
At the end of the day, Silver Linings Playbook is pretty much a romantic comedy. But it's kind of the same thing director David O. Russell did with The Fighter, where, yeah, it's a sports movie, but it's also a hard-hitting look at drug addiction.
If this whole genre business has any worth at all, it's as categorizing movies in terms of what the audience is looking for. Sometimes, you're in the mood for a comedy, other times a drama; you don't just want to reach into a sack and pull out Platoon when you and your date want to watch something romantic. So SLP is trying to be a romantic comedy and it sets out to do what a romantic comedy does, but it doesn't shit the bed and wag its flaccid dick in your face like a lot of rom-coms do, which is what gives the genre a bad name.
It's like if Warrior and Here Comes The Boom were both contractors you could hire to fix your kitchen. Sure, they're both in the same business, they're both trying to do the same thing, but one comes in, fixes your sink, then goes on to teach your wayward son martial arts to defend against bullies, saves your marriage, even rescues your cat from a house fire. And the other one (the one with Paul Blart) comes in, takes a crap in the sink, swipes some of your Blu-Rays, leers at your teenage daughter, steps on the cat's tail, just all sorts of things going wrong.
By the way, both of the contractors are race-neutral in this example, whatever races you're picturing them as, I don't want you to think it has anything to do with their professionalism.
So, yeah, Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy, but it's a damned good romantic comedy that strives for excellence, and I think tumblr will like it because a substantial amount of the plot is sex-obsessed bisexual Jennifer Lawrence literally chasing down the hero, which is pretty much the only thing fandom could want more than another Harry Potter book. And not monotone Katniss Everdeen J-Law either. The J-Law who talks about peeing.
Some things:
1. I like how, since Bradley Cooper is ridiculously good-looking but is in serious actor mode here, they give him a backstory where he used to look like a human being, but got into great shape. Then Jennifer Lawrence comes in, the woman who according to X-Men canon is literally a younger version of Rebecca Romijin, and just goes "Sup?"
2. Like I said, rom-com, but while no one is a saint, they also don't make anyone a jackass just for E-Z Riting. The worst people in the movie are the guys who are interested in Jennifer Lawrence's character, Tiffany, because she's a nymphomaniac, and none of them are Hollywood jerks who get handsy with her so Bradley Cooper can punch them out and make the audience swoon.
3. If there's a caveat I have, it's that the film pushes down a little hard on the drama button for my taste. I think there's a long stretch of movie where it seems like every conversation leads to a big! dramatic! confrontation! Even a innocuous bit of character-building like Tiffany joking with Bradley Cooper about sleeping with women becomes a big hairy deal five minutes later because she was opening up to him, man! It's like the movie isn't giving itself time to breathe, so I could see that as the film abusing the rom-com license to play things broad. Of course, the hero is suffering from bipolar disorder and interacting with people who have their own issues, so it makes sense.
4. My dad's a big Browns fan, so he's inclined to like any movie where the hero lives in dire fear of being sent to (a mental hospital in) Baltimore.
5. Sophie's Choice for men - dirty dancing with Jennifer Lawrence or going to see the home team play with your family?
ETA: I know Russell was supposed to do an Uncharted movie a while back that sounded very Tim Burton in terms of accuracy, but given the way he's managed to fulfill genre expectations while also giving bonus Oscarness, maybe it would've been good. Still, I can't imagine why he thought Mark Wahlberg would make a good Nate. Bradley Cooper here would be lightyears better.
