Silver Linings Playbook

I have been somewhat slow in posting my reaction to this amazing flick because I did not know what to say. It is fantastic. I suspect it will be my favorite Oscar movie of the season. The films that pair great comedy with real life drama, and do it right, in a well written way, are always my favorites. The Descendants was a favorite last year for this reason. It won Best Adapted Screenplay. There were many other movies I loved in the 2012 Oscar season (The Help, Beginners) and there will be others I love this year (Argo). Each year there are films that feel like homework (Warhorse, Les Misérables) and there are surprise gems (Albert Nobbs).

Silver Linings Playbook will always be a memorable movie going experience. Emily and I first attempted a sold out showing at one theater but ended up making the next showtime at another theater (the same thing happened on the way to seeing Zero Dark Thirty; apparently the Oscar nominated movies are making bank this year, or I am off my game).

The acting is strong to say the least -- four of the leads in the movie have been nominated for Oscars, Bradley Cooper for Best Actor, Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actress, Robert DeNiro for Best Supporting Actor and Jacki Weaver for Best Supporting Actress, not to mention Chris Tucker's delightful role. J La has a good shot at winning (just check out her monologue from this week's SNL) and both she and Cooper are incredible as emotionally off-kilter people trying to move past recent events in their lives. If Daniel Day Lewis was not a complete shoe-in for Best Actor as Lincoln, Cooper might have had a chance at the statue as well.

The film is also up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing. And there's football, gambling and dancing.  David O Russell wrote and directed the picture, he also directed the Fighter and I Heart Huckabees. I am a fan of Russell's movies and if you have seen his previous pictures, you can see how Silver Linings Playbook incorporates the comedy of Huckabees and the family drama of the Fighter. I loved this movie and am tempted to see it again before Oscar season is over.