The main reason to watch Silver Linings Playbook is for the performances, particularly the two leads who have terrific chemistry. Bradley Cooper ventures out of his comfort zone and actually has to act instead of coasting by on his looks and Jennifer Lawrence is superb as usual. The two of them manage to hide a lot the movies flaws including it's third act problems as well as its reluctance to deal with mental illness in any meaningful fashion.… Collapse

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Silver Linings Playbook is a fun movie, with the usual compromises that touchy-feely family comedies have, especially when mixed with a heavy amount of clinical disfunctionalism.
Most of the casting was fine, the script and work of the cast drew us in to the characters and the semi-plausible tale will bring tears to the eyes of the optimists in the audience.
There was a little too much psychosis for me, but it was a fun two hours and the ending didn't disappoint.… Expand

It's no "Ordinary People," but I really enjoyed both the drama and comedy of this film about people just trying to survive in their different ways. And the fact that a competent cast managed to do the job in a mere two hours! Know it's not a "blockbuster," but it's less preachy than "Lincoln," doesn't embellish a real story like "Argo," is more relatable than "Zero," and has a soundtrack that's more enjoyable than 99 percent of the music in "Les Mis." Puzzled, though, by the Oscar nom for Jacki Weaver. She picks the son up at the hospital and that's about it -- kind of a zero compared with (say) Melissa Leo as the mom in "The Fighter."… Expand

I love movies like this because it reflects just how messed up life can be sometimes. You may mess up and not get a second chance, so move on; improve yourself.

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence play off each other wonderfully, both representing broken people who have had their lives completely drained by a previous episode. Robert De Niro is wonderful as the OCD father and the film really does ride the line of comedy and drama well. The most surprising part is how it got me rooting for the main characters, a rare-feat these days.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of character-driven movies.… Expand

One of the most unique, clever, and charming films I've seen from 2012! The film exceeded my expectations in every way possible! The acting was absolutely sensational! This film will no doubt in my mind be Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence's career booster. De Niro was perfect as the film's comic relief. Jacki Weaver and Chris Tucker also deliver worthwhile performances. The film's story is absolutely perfect! The dialogue from the characters is very clever and often times rather humorous. There were some instances where the film seemed confused about what it was(comedy, drama, romance, etc.) However, the film was able to maintain a perfect balance of all three for the most part. So that extremely minor flaw can thankfully be overlooked. Overall, it's definitely one of the best movies I've seen all year! It's a movie that will definitely make you laugh, cheer, and maybe even cry. It's also bound to stay with you in spirit long after it's over!… Expand

A truly adorable, engaging and uplifting romantic comedy that manages to steer away from the conventional and reminds us that in order to get it right in this genre it requires both a solid script, a good director, but most of all chemistry between the leads: Lawrence has proven her self before, but Cooper is just such a revelation in a very challenging role. Recommended feel good film of the year.… Expand

As the movie begins, Bradley Cooper is released from a mental facility where he was sentenced after a violent incident. He returns home to his parents (De Niro's his dad) and tries to get his demons under control. It's not long til he meets his unstable soulmate (Jennifer Lawrence) and the knotty relationship develops. This is not a punchline script: The humor comes from the characters and their unwieldy interactions. Expect more quiet chuckles than outright laughter. Performances are uniformly strong (great to see Chris Tucker) with Lawrence adding to her short list of impressive characters. If you enjoy watching emotional outbursts and frantic family arguments, you may find this film entertaining. I was never bored, but never captivated either.… Expand

This is a most enjoyable, convincing, thoughtful and true to life comedy/drama/romance about a dysfunctional family. There's an excellent screenplay, direction and four strong acting performances in this film. Jennifer Lawrence's performance is especially impressive.

I loved this film. A perfect balance between humor, drama, and quirkiness. I thought the chemistry between Pat and Tiffany was through the roof. The acting and writing are excellent throughout. David O. Russell seems to be one of those directors that gets superb performances by the entire cast. "I made crabbie snacks and homemades!". I laughed every time his mother said it. Pat and Tiffany's discussion about all the meds they've taken was hilarious. I laughed a lot during the film and was rooting for these two to get together right from the start. The best romantic comedy I've seen in years. This movie and "Life of Pi" are the best two films I've seen this year. Oh - I also really enjoyed the music selection for the film as well.… Expand

For me, this film worked at every level. It's funny, sad, tragic, compelling, screwed up and absolutely entertaining. Not a dull moment here and it's not even an action movie! Cooper + Lawrence are beautiful together and believable.

This is a comedy of category A, this love story between 2 people with mental health problems makes that the Viewer is love, at a certain point no I thought it was the best movie of the year, but if offers the best deal with the best performances of the year, mainly Lawrence, Cooper and De Niro.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Please why does a movie that sucks so bad get an 8.2 score here From the very first scene you can tell that even Bradley Cooper doesn't know if this is a comedy or a drama. Bipolar my butt. He looks like an NFL quarterback, that is the shape he is in. The script is just beyond awful. And why did they throw Robert DeNiro into the mix Anyone who has ever seen a father and a son together know that they don't act like that...unless...it is a comedy, which it isn't. The ADD style of this movie and the constant babbling of everybody involved really go on your nerves after 7.5 minutes. I seriously start to doubt the ratings on here. I am pretty sure that Hollywood has an entire army of people who do nothing but rate up movies on sites like this one.
And yes, why exactly WAS he wearing that modified garbage bag while running It was not even funny...… Expand

The greatest date movie I've seen in years, or ever. Funny, sad, serious, everything. Plus, if you have any experiences with the subject matter you will have a lot to relate to. A couple unrealistic issues are no big deal to anyone except the annoying self-righteous types.

Incredible movie. Cooper and Lawrence could both be up for an Oscar for this puppy. The development of Cooper's character is given with care and validity. My only gripe is the betting of the football game and dance. That seemed a little cliche.

If you had a "Rom Com" written by John Cassevetes and Woody Allen with the football part of " Saturday Night Lights" - mixing in the dance Scene from " Saturday Night Fever" but with a few Double Vodkas thrown in; - quickly You might get a glimmer of how brilliant this very small film is. Loved the Dinner scene, the Diner Scene & Bradley Cooper nails it. Go ! The Acting on a scale of 1- 10 is a Fifty.… Expand

Touching movie about life twists, when human tracks reassemble and diverge, beyond control. Pat (Bradley Cooper) is discharged from a mental institution after eight months supervision for beating his wife lover. He accidentally meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a widower who lost her job after being engaged in sexual relationships with her colleagues following her husband sudden death. Both are back to their parents home, starting all over, trying to rehabilitate and reconcile with their families and new life. Pat is obsessed by regaining his wife, seeks the help of Tiffany in exchange of participating with her in a dance contest. This line goes with Pat father (Roberto De Nero) trying to win a gamble to own a restaurant if his team Philadelphia Eagles wins along with Pat and Tiffany scoring 5 of 10 in the contest. Pat hardly sought love for his wife is diverted to Tiffany at the last ten minutes of this two hours movie. They got the 5 out of 10 in the dance contest, Philadelphia Eagles wins, Pat father gets the restaurant. Happy finale, for a well crafted scenario, acting, and directing, from the whole team, no one is exempted from the credit. Life is not what's expected or anticipated, human feelings are not stereotyped, a must see movie that won't let you bored.… Expand

Such great dialogue that it deserves an Oscar - and makes you realize how starved you are for intelligent dialogue in movies. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence have surprisingly good chemistry and this helps you overcome the desire to (occasionally) slap them silly.

The first two-thirds of the film were pretty great. I was enjoying the acting and the storyline. But then someone decided it was a good idea to throw a ridiculous, moronic bet into the plot and the film kind of falls apart, devolving into a generic (but admittedly sweet) rom-com ending. Worst of all, there was just no need for the goofy bet; the film was going to be fine without it. I give a lot of credit to the actors, then, for making the whole affair watchable anyway. Cooper and Lawrence do their best work ever here, and De Niro and Tucker get their best roles in years.… Expand

I have to say, this film slightly overstepped the mark of emotion, overdoing it with brash confidence after assuming that this is what the audience came for. The comedy was perfectly balanced, though, and with the addition of people like Robert De Niro, I got what I came for. The drama was edgy alongside its more or less light-hearted comedy, without any conflict and a little spirit. However, despite the difference of its less formulaic storyline from other dramedies, many of the scenes did not gel and I still left the cinema with a whole bunch of unanswered questions.… Expand

One of this year's top Oscar contenders, Silver Lining Playbook has a really great ensemble cast. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent as always, cementing her position as one of this generation's best actress. Kudos for Bradley Cooper, De Niro and Weaver. Despite its flawless cast though, at its heart, Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy, filtered through David O. Russel's gritty sensibility. The plot follows a predictable trajectory; sure it's peppered with a more 'colorful' i.e. curse filled dialogue, but if you've seen romantic comedies, you'll know the drill.… Expand

The Silver Linings Playbook has no flaws at all. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper somehow manage to be the most entertaining characters of the year. The cast gives potent and wonderful performances and it has an excellent screenplay. This is a great film and should be a big hit at the Oscar's. I give this film 94%.

While I don't think Silver Linings Playbook was quite worthy of all the praise it got from the "experts" and the academy, it was still a very good movie. Bradley Cooper is absolutely fantastic. This is by far the best role he's ever had and he shows that he really is a very good actor. Jennifer Lawrence is also incredible. Not only is she stunning but the range of her acting abilities seems to have no bounds. A lot of that range is shown in this film and, while I can't confirm that she did in fact perform better than the competition, I can say that her role was flawless and I can't argue her winning an Oscar for it. The supporting cast was also great with Robert De Niro and Chris Tucker, among others, providing added depth to the movie. The only flaw I had was that it dragged quite a bit towards the middle/end portion. It started great and ended great and most of the middle was very entertaining but from about the 60% to 80% part of the film it did feel a bit sluggish. Nonetheless, the dialogue and character development keeps you intrigued so I think most people would appreciate the movie.… Expand

Finally a cinema-going to officially culminate all the Oscar BEST PICTURE nominee of last year, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK treads upon a traditionally crowd-pleasing boy-meet-girl romantic genre while smartly embodying two main characters with distinguished personal mental foibles, which is a masterstroke to keep them refreshing and connected with the present quirk-emancipated modern generation.

After his ambitious brothers-boxers drama THE FIGHTER (2010, 8/10), David O. Russell has ascended to the top tier of Hollywood where he can harness marquee stars and meaty source materials, thus, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK has all its edges to be winsome and lovable, but somewhat the final outcome doesn’t live up much to the heated expectation, personally I am rather stolid from the American football fanaticism and the “parley gamble” bidding is by no means a recommendable action to be encouraged (but it is an intrinsic default in the source novel, O. Russell should not take the blame here I suppose), anyway, the scenario does make wonders to gyrate a captivating duo-dance between Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, both utterly committed to their characters, verbal ripostes are acetic and sharply accessible. The chemistry sparkles albeit of the age-gap of the actors (a inconceivable 15 years in real life).

Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar-crowning has sparked (understandably)
controversies (like most of the years), but it is like the film itself, acceptable (for me), the stretch of her character may be impeded by the condescending male-perspective of winning the right girl, why on earth it always ends with a stale “it is the girl who lingers on the verge of being hurt” plot even under the exception of the mighty confidence discharging from Lawrence’s character. Her youth is the double-edged sword in this case, thanks to her mature countenance, audience may not detect it instantly, and the film also bypasses to specify her age. So it is a younger example of Helen Hunt’s win and looks like a future Jodie Foster career orbit, plus her Kristen Stewart popularity (THE HUNGER GAME franchise will continue lighting her path), she is the “it girl” in Hollywood right now and a role model of the industry.

Bradley Cooper, a later-bloomer in his leading man status, has seized an unexpected earlier harvest in Oscar-nomination than most of his contemporaries, although constantly in the danger of being overshadowed by his more sapient co-stars, performance-wise, it is his own victory. Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, are not in my top 10 list of the year, since the script doesn’t challenge them hard enough, but they do reflect the slice-of-life authenticity of the endearing parents (except that De Niro’s weeping scene is too maudlin to endure). And forget about Chris Tucker, I don’t know why he pops up here to interrupt his satisfactory (both to him and to me) holed-up.

So, it is a happily-ever-after fairytale full of mentally unstable people with various neuroses, the steady-cam cinematography looks hipster but also impairs one’s concentration, the ultimate dance-routine is mesmerizingly shot, but the banal ending does causing a compulsive meh before the credits rolls, although the final speech is fine and (artificially) sincere.… Expand

People are hopelessly flawed, but that doesn't mean that happiness is out of reach. This movie is a celebration of the human spirit, and I love it so much. Might be my favorite of 2012.

Silver Linings Playbook is an Beautiful film with A wonderful Story brought to life by Great Acting, Colorful Dialog, and a heartfelt story. This includes the captive performances of the 4 leads with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper igniting the most in there characters. Silver Linings Playbook is a film to remember one of the instances to successfully infuse A wonderful Love Story, A great Drama and A funny Comedy.… Expand

It is surprising how the movie is able to combine so many conflicts in 120 minutes, and still make me laughing at some point. It is one of those movies which you thought it was plain while watching it, but when you think about it moments later, you'll find it good. I see blue sky, white clouds and shining sun in my mind while the credits going. Definitely not good enough to win Oscar for The Best Movie, but obviously good enough to win Jennifer The Best Actress.… Expand

I loved this heartwarming movie that makes you feel good without it getting all syrupy. At the heart of the film is wonderful acting with both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper delivering great performances. Also take note of the sound track featuring a duet between Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.

Cooper plays a nut just out of the asylum who returns home to live with mom and dad and get his life together and win back his wife (who had an affair that caused him to have a psychotic break).The first half of the movie plays like a modern version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And while that's for me the more unusual and the better half of the