Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook, directed by David Russell is a powerful love story full of drama and some crooked humor. I'll admit, I pretty much went into this movie blind. I had watched the trailer and knew it was nominated for several Academy Awards. Plus, I knew it had Jennifer Lawrence in it, and I have a bit of a lady crush on her. However, I really didn't know the story line. Which is actually how I prefer to do things. I hardly ever read a synopsis. If the trailer can't convince me, then I'm probably not interested.

So.. here is a plot summary. It's a little long and there are spoilers. Sorry... his is my first one. =)

The movie starts with Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) in a psychiatric hospital but his mom, Dolores (Jacki Weaver), comes that day to take him home. On the way home, Pat asks his mother to take him to the library so he can read all the books on his wife's, Nikki, curriculum. When the arrive at the house, Pat's dad (Robert De Niro) is surprised to see him home because he didn't know Dolores was getting him. Then they all argue. Lots of arguing in this movie.

Pat begins reading the books from Nikki's class in his effort to win her back. However, at the end of reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, he has a fit. While Pat was in the hospital he worked on finding silver linings and believing in happy endings. He was not happy with the book because it ends with death. And it's hard to see a silver lining in that.

Sometime in the next couple days, he goes for a run. He is searching for Nikki while he is running, going past their old home and to the school where he used to work and she still does. He then stops by his friend, Ronnie's house, where he is invited over for dinner. At first he does not want to go but then he thinks that Nikki might be there because she one of Ronnie's wife's friends. So, he decides to attend.

Ronnie's wife, Veronica, doesn't like Pat. And she does not try to hide that when he comes over for dinner. Before dinner, Ronnie confides in Pat and tells him that he is having marital problems. Pat tells him that he needs to talk to Veronica about that, but Ronnie prefers to pretend like nothing is happening. About this time, Veronica's little sister, Tiffany, comes into the room. Ronnie had just warned Pat that she was coming and was still recovering from the death of her husband so he shouldn't bring it up.

Pat's first conversation with Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) does not really go well. He tells her that he isn't flirting with her then ends up asking her how her husband died. Dinner ends up not going well either and Tiffany ends up wanting to leave early and asks Pat to walk her home. When they get back to her house, she says she isn't attracted to him but if he comes in, she will sleep with him. He declines this and offends her. So she slaps him and storms off.

Over the next couple days he finds out a little of Tiffany's story and she makes a deal with him. If he agrees to dance with her in an upcoming dance competition, she will deliver a letter to Nikki for him. So, he starts spending a lot of time with her, learning different dance moves and building a friendship. She eventually gives him a return letter from Nikki.

During this time, Pat's father keeps trying to get Pat to hang out with him and watch the Eagles game. But, Pat is always spending time with Tiffany during the games. His father thinks Pat is good luck, and if they watch the game together, the Eagles will win. Pat ends up going to a game with his brother and getting kicked out while ditching Tiffany, and gets into a big argument with his father. Tiffany comes over to his house to chew him out, and Pat's dad says she is the reason that the Eagles lost.

Tiffany retorts with a list of the games that the Eagles played while Pat was with her, and they won every game. The next game is supposed to happen during their dance competition, so she convinces his dad to double or nothing the bet on the Eagles winning. The guy he is betting against, Randy, agrees, but wants to add a parlay of Pat and Tiffany getting at least a score of five. Pat however, is angry with everyone and refuses to dance. So, they lie to him and tell him Nikki is going to be there.

The Eagles end up winning the game, but Tiffany sees that Nikki actually did come to the dance competition and she freaks out and starts drinking. Pat finds her and they do their dance, and barely squeak by with a five. But that's all they wanted. Tiffany sees Pat go over to talk to Nikki and runs out of the dance hall. Pat whispers something in Nikki's ear and chases after her. When he catches up to her, he reads her his last letter.. which is to her, not Nikki. In the letter, he confesses his love for her and apologizes for his head taking so long to catch up with his heart.


It's not very often that romantic comedies really wow me, but this story hit close to home and I was impressed. I think my favorite part of the story was how you see the crazy in everyone. Which is something I most definitely believe to be true. Nobody is perfect, we all have demons and every single one of us is a little bit crazy. 

The plot in this movie was well developed and executed well. It started out a little slow, I thought, but it didn't take long to understand just how messed up in the head this guy was. He wanted to prove that he had gotten better while he was away, but the audience can clearly see that he isn't really very much better. However, he has chosen to adopt a very positive outlook on life. He has decided to believe in happy endings. To believe in silver linings. Which I think everyone needs to work on doing that a little more. I liked the overall outlook Pat had on things, even if he did go a little extreme and beat a man within an inch of his life at one point. Overall, he's doing better than most of us, who choose to see the world in a negative light. It takes a strong personality to not focus on the bad stuff. I think we all have a little to learn from crazy Pat Solitano.

I also loved Tiffany's character. She has one line: "I was a slut. There will always be a part of me that is dirty and sloppy, but I like that, just like all the other parts of myself. I can forgive. Can you say the same for yourself, fucker? Can you forgive? Are you capable of that?" I love this line. It's a hard enough world to live in, and if you aren't happy with who you are, it's that much harder. I like that Tiffany can admit that her past isn't perfect. But it has made her into the person she is today, and she is proud of that. I think that's admirable. To not only be proud of your achievements but be proud of your mistakes too. Lovely character. And I have an even bigger crush on Jennifer Lawrence for playing her.

The acting in this movie was incredible. Definitely Bradley Cooper's best that I have seen. The chemistry between Bradley and Jennifer was perfect. They both did a lovely job playing the crazy person in modern America. And I was very impressed with De Niro. He was fantastic at playing the OCD sports fan. I think this movie was well deserving of the Oscar nominations and I am disappointed that it didn't win more.

Thanks for reading. Comments would be appreciated. =)