Silver Linings Playbook (2012) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  David O. Russell

Starring:  Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jacki Weaver


David O. Russell's dramedy Silver Linings Playbook walks a fine line, no make that a tightrope, in its depiction of mental illness.    It reminds me a lot of As Good As It Gets, in which Jack Nicholson's Melvin Udall is mentally ill, but the film works anyway because the right tone is established.     Three of the main characters are disturbed in some fashion, yet they remain touching, human, and likable.   
A good rule of thumb is that if we care about the characters, everything else settles in just right.

As the film opens, Pat Solitano (Cooper), a former Philadelphia teacher is released from a mental hospital after serving eight months of a sentence for nearly beating his wife's lover to death.    He is determined to get his wife back despite a restraining order and believes he can if he follows his delusional path.    Excelsior! is his rallying cry and although we don't know what it means, it sure sounds good.    He returns home to his father, Pat Sr. (DeNiro), a superstitious Eagles fan who believes the Eagles will win as long as Pat Jr. is watching the game with him.   

Pat Sr. himself is not without his own troubles.    He is banned from Lincoln Financial Field because of fighting and he realizes all too well that his own issues may have played a role in his son's.    Oh and he also bets more and more recklessly on Eagles games which may endanger the family's finances.   Pat's mother Dolores (Weaver) more or less acts as someone who has dealt with all of this many times before and can only cope the best she can.     Weaver and DeNiro create a believable, grounded, loving marriage.   

Putting a monkey wrench into Pat's plans for redemption is Tiffany (Lawrence), a young local widow who likes Pat and is able to communicate on a deep level with him because she is offbeat herself.     She uses sex as a way of coping with her husband's death.    At one point, she said she was fired from her job because she was having sex with everyone in her office, including women.     Pat is drawn to her and obviously likes her, but doesn't want to have sex because he fears it would be cheating on his estranged wife.     I was reminded of the funny line in Edward Burns' She's The One, where a character says, "You don't want to cheat on your girlfriend with your wife?"    Tiffany serves a purpose for Pat because she has contact with his ex-wife and can prove to be useful in this regard.    He, at first, has no other ideas what she may be useful for.   She agrees to give the ex-wife a letter from Pat in exchange for Pat's agreement to be her dance partner in a local contest.   

Cooper and Lawrence have chemistry and a lot in common.    They are so interesting to watch because they play by their own set of rules and you never know what will happen next, even if you think you know what will.     I enjoyed their performances immensely.    DeNiro's work is his best in many years.    He creates a stubborn, wounded, yet caring father who wants nothing more than a happy household and Eagles wins, not necessarily in that order.  

The film takes on the ebb and flow of a romantic comedy and I found myself drawn in to this goofy world.    It's not a case of where Pat's troubles are all cured because of Tiffany or love.    He simply finds a way to make things work within a world that doesn't operate by his standards and never will.    I wonder if he ever got his teaching job back.