Silver Linings Playbook

Mr. E and I have enjoyed the movies four or five times in the last few weeks- something we hesitate to do so often because of ticket prices. We have all the local theatres scoped out: which has the best lines, the cheapest tickets, the seats with moving handles so we don't sit separate. Our favorite, by far, is the one right around the corner- we both show our student IDs and we can watch a movie for $15.

The other night we grabbed dinner, a movie and a small bag of movie candy for 95 cents thanks to gift cards! We had been looking forward to date night all week and were pleasantly surprised with Silver Linings Playbook.

We LOVED this movie- easily something we would watch again in theatres and buy when it comes out. I really enjoy movies lately  that focus on real relatable characters instead of just good stories. 

Silver Linings Playbook


Imdb synopsis:
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

What I loved most about the movie was the incredibly vivid and relatable portrayal of mental illnesses. Coming from a family with ADD and marrying into another with anxiety and panic attacks, I found SLP incredibly uplifting in its honesty and realism. Pat (Bradley Cooper) is diagnosed with bipolarism- which personally shocked me. That seemed like such an extreme label to put on someone, but throughout the movie you find yourself relating to him, sympathasizing with him and encouraging his achievements with his diagnosis. This isn't the flu or a tumor to remove and it's all better; this is behavior, this is how he acts, how he reacts, how he IS.

Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) was every INCH her character- emotional, intelligent, critical but fierce. I loved watching the chemistry between these two. It wasn't gooey or romantic- actually it didn't feel like most movie relationships at all. You know it was a good movie when you forget about all the other nit-picky parts and just enjoy what you're watching. 

It seems that there is such a stigma about acknowledging, labelling, and treating mental illnesses. I think these are far more prevalent than most people let on, assuming that it's situational or caused by single events and once that situation has passed everything will be okay.  In SLP I recognized behavioral traits in myself and others because the movie showed you how it feels instead of telling you how it is. That's not to say I mentally diagnosed everyone, but rather that I left the stigma behind and accepted that some "illnesses" can be attributed to a "difference of personality". You understood Pat's underlying focus in the movie and could explain away his blunt and honest behavior because he was rambling out loud all of those things we mentally remind ourselves. And his father? Neurotic? Sure, but his intentions were to take care of his family, to salvage his pride and to see his son succeed. Maybe his methods were a little wacky, but you could relate to them as paternal idiosincracies (my dad has 'em, yours does too!).

I would pay money to see this movie. Again.