This post originally appeared in 2013.
Another absolutely horrific winter weather day here in the south, which for you uninitiated/Yankees means it was below 50 degrees, so off to the movie theater we go. Now that the Oscar nominations are out, some films that I missed the first time around have circled back for another go. One of these is Silver Linings Playbook. I wanted to see it because a) Bradley Cooperlicious and b) is unnecessary, see a). Seriously, I was interested in seeing it because it is set in Philadelphia and my hubs is a Philly native. I thought he would get a kick out of it. Plus, he would be my BS-o-meter in case anything Philly-ish was misrepresented.
Silver Linings is a mash-up of Rocky (if Rocky had a handsome, tall lead actor for whom English was a first language, and was about ballroom dancing rather than boxing) and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (if it had a handsome, tall lead actor whose mother sprung him from the nut house in the first five minutes of the film). Soooo, not a whole lot like those two films, but whatev. It is basically a romantic comedy with colorful Philadephia neighborhood characters and mental illness serving as the backdrop. Which of course is a match made in heaven, since just about everyone in the movie lives in a Philadelphia neighborhood and suffers from some sort of mental illness.
Bottom line: the movie was cute and I recommend you see it. Some particularly delightful bits include:
- the meet cute between Cooper's character and his love interest, played by Jennifer Lawrence. I may be the only person within 75 miles of an American urban center who has not seen or read Hunger Games, but I believe she was in that? Anyway the meet cute was, well, cute.
- Even though his role felt tacked on, it was good to see Chris Tucker back on the silver screen. I adored him in Fifth Element and of course 1.5 of the Rush Hour movies.
- My hubs was delighted with the diner featured in one part of the film. It is an actual place and he has been in there scarfing carbs after a night of partying. Props for authenticity.
- Robert DeNiro's character being 'banned for life' due to too many fights at the Eagles games. My hubs assures me this is a real thing.
- Tailgating scene at the Eagles game - Cooper's character's Indian therapist - hysterical in Eags face paint! Love it!
- This last one pains me to mention, but again, props for authenticity: use of the Eagles/Cowboys rivalry crucial to the climax of the film. At least I can say we know this film is fiction, because it depicts the Eagles making it to the playoffs.
If I had one criticism it would be that there was only a brief mention of cheese steaks and absolutely no mention or sightings of pretzels. No Philly pretzels? This is a travesty. And also a good excuse for Silver Linings 2: Eagles Lose to Cowboys - Again.
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