After an 8 month visit to a mental hospital, Pat Solatino returns home to pickup the pieces of his life. Through a regiment of excercise and positive thinking, Pat hopes to rekindle the romance between him and his estranged wife. Having lost most of his friends, his job, and colleagues, Pat befriends Tiffany, an outspoken woman, mourning the death of her husband. Quickly forming a connection, cemented by common experiences with mood altering medications, Pat and Tiffany strike a bargain. Pat will partner up with Tiffany for a dance contest and Tiffany will help Pat with his estranged wife. As the conclusion of their bargain draws near, they discover that what they once agreed to is no longer what either of them cares about.
Based on a novel by Matthew Quick, "Silver Linings Playbook" is a quirky, complex, and lighthearted drama, with comedic edge. At first, the story and characters may seem a little too difficult to connect with, but if you can settle in and accept the constant barrage of emotional outburst, fragmented thoughts, and the general oddness, the story and the characters begin to grow on you. Bradley Cooper (Pat) and Jennifer Lawrence (Tiffany) star in this quirky romantic comedy, about the emotional and mental difficulties which life has a tendency of throwing in our way. It is nice to see Lawrence emoting more than she did in her role as Katniss, in the Hunger Games franchise, where she played things a little too neutral. Rounding out the cast, Robert De Niro (Pat Senior), Jacki Weaver (Dolores), and Chris Tucker (Danny) go along for the ride, while adding an ambient touch of drama and levity to Pat and Tiffany's tale. In spite of its initial complexity, "Silver Linings Playbook" inevitably resolves itself into something that resembles a tidier imitation of life, love, and the search for the silver lining.
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