Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

director: David O. Russell
*inspired by a novel by Matthew Quick
country: USA
imdb

I'm really late to the party with this one. Its reputation precedes it and it was hailed on so many levels that I became a bit sceptical - people often fall for feel good movies or the ones with massive screenplay/scenery which are most of the time really bad if you try to understand what lies under the bombastic surface (what I have in mind are the likes of Slumdog Millionare, The Tree of Life and such ...).

The story is probably already well known: Pat (played by Bradley Cooper) got released from mental health institution after beating up his wife's lover. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has to move with in his parents, take medication and go to mandatory therapy sessions. I really like the way it deals with mental illness - it doesn't try to make us pity the character and it doesn't show him like some sort of martyr (I'm looking at you, 50/50!).

Pat comes home full of energy and positive thoughts. He wants to settle things with his wife (who now has a restraining order against him). The luggage he brought back from the hospital is the motto "Excelsior!" and determination to surround himself only with positivity.

This is not how the world rolls out of the hospital and I think that the movie elegantly shows just how mental institution equips someone to go back to society - not much is actually shown or said about it but we see that they force him into the positivity talk that turns really foggy when you're exposed to distressing situation. Which may be just an everyday situation for someone with bipolar disorder. All the work was actually done by himself - with a help from Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence).

 

source: collider.com

Tiffany is a young widow and has her own string of problems. The two of them make a lovely pair - each of them waving around with their wedding rings (one from late husband and one from ex wife), both are excelling in saying most inappropriate things; most probably because the're settled for being the family outcast and the crazy one. They become a crutch for one another.

The story does have the classic "rom-com triangle" - they start off with "denial", what's meant to happen is "the fuck-up" + "the sudden realization" and then comes the "working hard to get it back" part and reconciliation when it all falls into place. Nonetheless it totally works here and it does seem exciting and fresh - mostly because it deals with unconventional topic (in an unconventional way!), it has smart characters (you get a superstitious father (Robert De Niro) with OCD and a gambling problem, douchebag brother (Shea Whigham), mother (Jacki Weaver) who tries to hold it all together, Danny (Chris Tucker) - fellow patient that jumps back and forth between the hospital and out ...), ALL brilliantly executed by the cast.

I only resent one of the first and a last detail of the movie - it's the picture of young Pat in his parent's house that went off the wall and back on at the end of the movie. If that was only shown in the background so that attentive viewer could still catch it, it would underline the severity of the fact that his father gave up on him. But it being placed straight in front of the viewer back again is a little underestimating. Also because I don't think it goes along with De Niro's character - how could he give up on a son that turned out so much like him and still have faith in himself?

Overall it's a very good movie and all the buzz about it is fully justified. It's a refreshing combination of drama and comedy that doesn't let you feel "up up up" (as Pat Sr. says) but lightly drops you back on the ground and lets you to continue that struggle in the life you lead. It's not a bed of roses.

The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday. That's guaranteed. I can't begin to explain that. Or the craziness inside myself and everyone else. But guess what? Sunday's my favorite day again. I think of what everyone did for me, and I feel like a very lucky guy. 

my rating: 9/10*

*charming and down to earth

One of my favorite scenes (just look how calm and convinced Pat Sr. is by her deduction!) :)

Superbad (2007)

director: Greg Mottola
*I also have to mention:
- the writers: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg - and as the names of the lead characters suggest, the story is loosely based on their experience;
- and producer: Judd Apatow - because you definitely see his touch in the final product
country: USA
imdb

This one is an "oldie" (damn, time flies!) but I have to get it off my chest. If I weren't too sure about this movie I would try to point off that this is kind of my quilty pleasure, something like if you caught me listening to Rihanna or Katy Perry (not that I do!) - BUT NO! I think this is one of the greatest comedies ever, The Big Lebowski of our decade!

 source: nerdacy.com

The hilarious fake ID scene

The story is about two inseparable high school seniors - Seth and Evan, played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. It features all the main anxieties of that stage of life - trying to stand up for yourself, moving away for college and leaving your friends behind, having uncertain future ... but the top of the priorities is to finally get laid to get the guts to look future fellow students in the eye. Then all of the other stuff will sort of fall into place.

There are three weeks of school left and that means not much more time to mingle. And being unpopular is one more disadvantage. All they seem to have left is one party that would determine their whole summer. That was the plan:

"She's gonna be at the party, and she's gonna be drunk, and she likes me at least a little, enough to get with me. At the very least I'll make out with her, two weeks hand job, month blow job, whatever whatever. And then, I make her my girlfriend. And I've got like two solid months of sex. By the time college rolls around I'll be like the Iron Chef of pounding vaj."

What it is - an honest comedy with many hilarious twists and turns. The air seems to be electrified by Seth's hysterical attempts to make the plan work. From when we meet our the characters it's all about getting to that party and bringing booze for everyone while being underage. And every minute delivers! It features one of the best cop duo in the movie history (Bill Hader and Seth Rogen), amazing performance of Joe Lo Truglio as the creepy "Francis the driver", Emma Stone's first performance in a movie and last but not least - the geeky star of the show Fogell aka McLovin' (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).

source: fanpop.com 

Would you believe this is a 25 year-old Hawaiian organ donor, named McLovin? (Maybe if you were a stressed out saleswoman who has a veterinary exam the next day ...)

The conversations and the situations are so well thought and the script is just bombastic - it doesn't hold back! There are talks about boobs, blowjobs, erections, semen, even the lube that are stretching from supermarket to school, from telephone to face-to-face conversation, from one lecture to another ... I think this movie as a whole is a testament of what "shitload of shit" you have to do as a teenager to fit in. While it is probably also the time of your life.

Everytime I put the DVD on (yeah, I totally bought the DVD!) and the 60s/70s funk starts to play my face turns into one big smile ... and then I laugh my ass off while remembering some of that bittersweet feelings of leaving high school.

my rating: 10/10*

*this is classic!

Another one of my fauvorite scenes from the movie:

What do you think about Superbad? Is the language too vulgar?