{"id":36287,"date":"2016-10-09T22:05:48","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T05:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/?p=36287"},"modified":"2016-10-09T22:09:54","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T05:09:54","slug":"challenge-week-37-silver-linings-playbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/challenge-week-37-silver-linings-playbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenge Week 37: Silver Linings Playbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. David O. Russell films often leave me feeling a little bit off, and with the combination mental health and football fan angles in this one, I was afraid it would be overly simplistic and\/or maudlin and\/or too sports-related. It’s actually a very enjoyable, old-fashioned romantic comedy\/drama, very well balanced between the main character’s attempts to get healthy and his budding romance.<\/p>\n

I’ve liked Bradley Cooper since Alias<\/em> days, so I’m glad he’s getting some great parts like this and recognition for them. And he’s very good as a bipolar guy just getting out of the hospital, moving back in with his parents, and trying to figure out how to reconnect with his wife…who has a restraining order against him. He’s a bit delusional about her, but it’s very believable and even if you wish you could smack it out of him, you know it’s just something he’s got to learn for himself.<\/p>\n

\"tf-letter\"<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Helping him out is Jennifer Lawrence, who’s not necessarily totally stable herself (her cop husband died in a freak accident, which sent her into some fairly self-destructive behaviors), but is trying to find an outlet through dance, and she draws Cooper in. Meanwhile, Cooper’s dad, Robert De Niro, thinks Cooper is some kind of lucky unicorn whose presence helps win the Philadelphia Eagles win the games De Niro is bookmaking for. The whole movie’s full of dysfunctional people, but the movie neither chastises them nor demeans them as cutely eccentric – they’re merely people trying to get along with who they are and what they’ve got.<\/p>\n

I usually say I don’t like romantic comedies, but there is a formula of romantic comedies that I do like, and this is it. It isn’t wholly focused on whether the girl and guy get together – they’ve each got their own stuff going on, and their interactions feel real within that context. Jennifer Lawrence has proven to be a powerhouse when working with Russell in particular, and this is no exception. The scene where she dresses De Niro down with all the stats about Eagles games was cheer-worthy. So great.<\/p>\n

\"tf-tellingoff\"<\/p>\n

There are romantic comedy cliches involved here, especially toward the end, but by then I was enough invested in these people and their situation that I was plenty happy to go along with them, especially as they’re pretty classic narrative tropes that have earned their cliche-ness. Despite my initial reservations, the film won me over completely by the end.<\/p>\n

Oh, and there’s not really that much football stuff. :)<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff…<\/h3>\n

2012, USA<\/em>
\nwritten and directed by David O. Russell<\/em>
\nstarring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m ranking all my Challenge films on Flickchart (as I do all the films I see), a movie-ranking website that asks you to choose your favorite between two movies until it builds a ranked list of your favorites. Just for fun, I will average out the rankings and keep a running tally of whose recommendations rank the highest. When you add a film to Flickchart, it pits it against films already on your chart to see where it should fall. Here’s how Silver Linings Playbook<\/em> entered my chart:<\/p>\n

The Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > The Blue Angel
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > The French Connection
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook < Anna Karenina<\/b> (2012)
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook < Belle de jour<\/b>
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook < Planet Terror<\/b>
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > Changing Husbands
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > Ex Machina
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > Bedazzled (1967)
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > Prometheus
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > Rashomon
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook<\/b> > Contagion
\nThe Silver Linings Playbook < To Kill a Mockingbird<\/b><\/p>\n

Final #813 out of 3707 films on my chart (78%)<\/p>\n

It is now my #1 David O. Russell film, my #2 Bradley Cooper film, my #1 Jennifer Lawrence film, my #6 Robert De Niro film, and my #19 film of 2012.<\/p>\n

Silver Linings Playbook<\/em> was recommended by Elisabeth Miller, a real-life friend. Averaging together this #813 ranking with my #1620 ranking of her other film, Requiem for a Dream<\/em>, gives Elisabeth an average ranking of 1216.<\/p>\n

A few more screenshots…<\/h3>\n

\"tf-dadson\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-dinner\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-jogging\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-parents\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-diner\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-deniro\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-dip\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-gamebros\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-studio\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. David O. Russell films often leave me feeling a little bit off, and with the combination mental health and football fan angles in this one, I was afraid it would be overly simplistic and\/or maudlin and\/or too sports-related. It’s actually a very enjoyable, old-fashioned romantic comedy\/drama, very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3027],"tags":[3221,3220,3222,3042,3219],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/tf-silverlinings-feat.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35505,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/2016-challenge-debrief\/","url_meta":{"origin":36287,"position":0},"title":"2016 Challenge Debrief","author":"Jandy","date":"March 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it's been almost three months since my year-long movie challenge officially completed, and it's taken me that long to decompress, rerank everything, and generally get ready to post a recap of the year. The short version: it was awesome! I watched a ton of movies I really liked, very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/crop-400-Blows-watching.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35387,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/the-2016-movie-challenge-a-preview\/","url_meta":{"origin":36287,"position":1},"title":"The 2016 Movie Challenge: A Preview","author":"Jandy","date":"January 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Because I can't leave well enough alone, here's a brief rundown of (some of) what I'll be watching in 2016 for this crazy challenge. I currently have 50 people signed up to recommend me movies, and all but a handful have already chosen their picks, so this thing is scheduled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/fc-keaton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27298,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/50dmc-33-favorite-remake\/","url_meta":{"origin":36287,"position":2},"title":"50DMC #33: Favorite Remake","author":"Jandy","date":"October 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions. Today's prompt: What's your favorite remake? I try not to have an immediate negative reaction when I hear about a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/His-Girl-Friday.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17634,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2011\/02\/rip-jane-russell-1921-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":36287,"position":3},"title":"RIP Jane Russell, 1921-2011","author":"Jandy","date":"February 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Bursting onto the Hollywood scene with a smoldering earthiness in 1943's The Outlaw, which was banned or suppressed in several places due to its on-screen sexuality, Jane Russell was not the staid glamourpuss so common at the time, but something more visceral, wearing her curves with pride, and slipping easily\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/jane-russell.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35506,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/challenge-week-5-lone-star\/","url_meta":{"origin":36287,"position":4},"title":"Challenge Week 5: Lone Star","author":"Jandy","date":"February 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm writing this a couple of days after watching the film, and I'm glad I let it settle a little bit before attempting to sum it up. I thought this was my first John Sayles film, but when I ranked it I discovered that I've actually seen one other one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tf-feat-Sam.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36389,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/challenge-week-40-moonrise\/","url_meta":{"origin":36287,"position":5},"title":"Challenge Week 40: Moonrise","author":"Jandy","date":"November 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow. I had high hopes for this, as I've been heard good things about it (not from a lot of people, as it's pretty obscure), I loved the Frank Borzage film Jeremy gave me earlier (here's that review), and I generally like film noir no matter what. I was unprepared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/tf-moonrise-feat.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36287"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}