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''Silver Linings Playbook'' is a 2012 American romantic
comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film written and directed by
David O. Russell David Owen Russell (born August 20, 1958) is an American filmmaker. His early directing career includes the comedy films '' Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), '' Flirting with Disaster'' (1996), ''Three Kings'' (1999), and ''I Heart Huckabees'' (20 ...
. The film was based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel '' The Silver Linings Playbook''. It stars Bradley Cooper and
Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people ...
, with
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
,
Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...
,
Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He appe ...
, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz and Julia Stiles in supporting roles. The story takes place in Ridley Park,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Cooper plays Patrizio "Pat" Solitano Jr., a man with
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevat ...
who is released from a
psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...
and moves back in with his parents (De Niro and Weaver). Pat is determined to win back his estranged wife. He meets a young widow, Tiffany Maxwell (Lawrence), who offers to help him get his wife back if he enters a dance competition with her. The two become closer as they train, and Pat, his father, and Tiffany examine their relationships with each other as they cope with their situations. ''Silver Linings Playbook'' premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2012, and was released in the United States on November 16, 2012. The film opened to significant critical acclaim, with praise drawn to Russell's direction, and the performances of Cooper and Lawrence. Among its many accolades, the film received eight
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and
Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...
. It became the first film since 1981's '' Reds'' to be Oscar-nominated for the four acting categories and the first since 2004's ''
Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Paul Haggis, based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...
'' to be nominated for the Big Five Oscars, with Lawrence winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and becoming the second-youngest Best Actress winner. It also achieved four
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
nominations, with Lawrence winning Best Actress; three BAFTA nominations, with Russell winning for
Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...
; four
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to me ...
nominations; and five
Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...
nominations, winning in four categories, including Best Feature. The film was a success at the box office, grossing over $236 million worldwide.


Plot

After eight months' treatment in a mental health facility for
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevat ...
, Patrizio "Pat" Solitano Jr. is released into the care of his parents, Patrizio Sr. and Dolores, at his childhood home in
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 ce ...
. His primary focus is to reconcile with his ex-wife, Nikki. She has moved away and obtained a restraining order against him after Pat found her in the shower with another man and badly beat him. Pat's therapist, Cliff Patel, tries to convince him to keep taking his medication, as a repeat of his violent outbursts might send him back to the clinic. Pat tells him that he has a new outlook on life: He attempts to see the good, or silver linings, in all that he experiences. Meanwhile, Pat experiences a series of anxiety attacks. Pat attends dinner at his best friend Ronnie's house and meets Ronnie's sister-in-law, Tiffany Maxwell, a widow with an unnamed disorder. They connect, talking about different
drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...
they have taken to manage their mental illnesses. She tries to offer him casual sex, but Pat is focused on getting Nikki back. Trying to get closer to Pat, Tiffany offers to deliver a letter to Nikki if, in return, he partners with her in an upcoming dance competition. He agrees and they start practicing regimen over the following weeks. Pat starts to develop feelings for Tiffany, but tries to push his feelings away. Pat believes the competition will be a good way to show Nikki he has changed. Patrizio Sr., hoping to open his restaurant, has resorted to illegal bookmaking. Having bet most of his money on a
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
game, he asks Pat to attend for good luck. Pat asks Tiffany for time off from practice to attend the game. She gives him a typed reply from Nikki, which cautiously hints they may be able to reconcile. Before entering the stadium, Pat and his brother Jake get into a fight with some racist fans and are hauled away by the police. The Eagles lose the game, and Patrizio is furious. When he claims that the Eagles lost because of Tiffany being involved in his son's life, she refutes his allegations by pointing out that the Philadelphia teams had done better whenever she and Pat were together. Convinced, Patrizio makes a parlay with Randy: If the Eagles win their next game and Tiffany and Pat score five out of ten in their dance competition, he will win back double the money he lost on the first bet. Pat is reluctant, so Tiffany, Dolores, and Patrizio conspire to persuade him to dance in the competition, telling him Nikki will be there. Pat notices that the letter from Nikki also refers to "reading the signs", a phrase frequently used by Tiffany. He realizes that she wrote the letter. Tiffany, Pat, and their friends and family arrive at the competition on the night of the football game. Tiffany despairs when she sees Nikki in the audience, invited by Ronnie and his wife Veronica. They want Nikki to lift her restraining order on Pat and give him the chance to reconcile. Tiffany starts to drink heavily at the bar. Pat finds her moments before their dance and drags her onto the dance floor. They begin their routine as the Eagles defeat the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
. After their set, Tiffany and Pat receive an average score of exactly 5.0 points, amid cheers from friends and family and confused looks from the crowd. Pat approaches Nikki and whispers into her ear. Tiffany sees this and runs off. Pat leaves Nikki and chases Tiffany. He hands her a letter, in which he admits to knowing she forged the letter. He confesses that he loved her from the moment he met her, though it took him a long time to realize it. They share a kiss. Patrizio opens a restaurant with the money he has won, and Pat and Tiffany begin a relationship, no longer wearing their wedding rings.


Cast


Production


Development

Renee Witt, an executive at
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...
, convinced
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...
to option the book by Matthew Quick on which the film is based, doing so before it was published.
Sydney Pollack Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film '' Out ...
then began developing for
David O. Russell David Owen Russell (born August 20, 1958) is an American filmmaker. His early directing career includes the comedy films '' Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), '' Flirting with Disaster'' (1996), ''Three Kings'' (1999), and ''I Heart Huckabees'' (20 ...
to direct. Pollack told Russell that the
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
would be tricky because of the story's mixture of troubling emotion, humor, and romance. Russell estimates he rewrote the script twenty times over five years. Russell was drawn to the story because of the family relationships and the connection he felt to his own son, who has bipolar disorder and OCD. The film was shot in 33 days. A darker, more extreme version of the dance sequence was filmed and scenes with De Niro's character were shot in multiple versions, with the character harsher or warmer, as Russell worked with editor
Jay Cassidy Jay Cassidy is an American film editor with more than 30 credits since 1978. Cassidy began his career in the 1970s working on documentaries and political advertising. He has had a notable collaboration with Sean Penn, having edited all of the f ...
to set the balance they wanted. The locations are Upper Darby, Ridley Park, and Lansdowne communities just outside
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Although not mentioned by name in the film, Ridley Park is credited at the end, and a police officer can be seen wearing the initials "RPPD" on his collar. The film takes place over the second half of the 2008 NFL football season, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles advance to the
NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world ...
. Several games are mentioned, including the Eagles' victories over
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
and
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, their losses to two of their
NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys (based in Arling ...
rivals
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
and the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
(which was the game Pat was attending when the fight broke out), and their victory over
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
in the regular season's final game.


Casting

Russell initially intended to make the film with
Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
and
Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel (; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She made her film debut in '' Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film '' Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known for h ...
, but went on to make ''
The Fighter ''The Fighter'' is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of professional boxer M ...
'' instead.
Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mark Wahlberg, multiple accolades, including a B ...
was set to work with Russell for the fourth time but had to drop out after delays in production created a scheduling conflict. Russell had originally planned to work with Bradley Cooper on an adaptation of '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'', having been impressed with Cooper's performance in '' Wedding Crashers'', citing his "good bad-guy energy" and unpredictability as justification for casting. Cooper told Russell "he had been heavier and angrier and more fearful" at the time of that performance and had drawn on those feelings for it. Russell was excited that Cooper would bring those qualities to Pat Solitano.
Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...
was cast as Tiffany Maxwell, but due to scheduling conflicts with ''
The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
'' and creative differences with Russell, she dropped out. Other actresses who were considered for the part included
Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perf ...
, Kirsten Dunst,
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
,
Blake Lively Blake Ellender Lively ( Brown; born August 25, 1987) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of actor Ernie Lively, and made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She starred as Brid ...
, Rooney Mara,
Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
,
Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...
and
Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House'' (2007–2012), and has appeared in the ...
. Initially, Russell did not believe Lawrence's age was suitable for the role. He thought Lawrence (21 at the time of filming) was too young to play opposite Cooper (37), but her audition changed his mind, admitting that the "expressiveness in her eyes and in her face" was "ageless"."''Silver Linings Playbook'': Jennifer Lawrence Wins Her Role via Skype, Learns to Dance Like an Amateur"
. ''The Hollywood Reporter''. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
Russell compares Lawrence to the character Tiffany, describing her as confident but one of the least neurotic people he knows, with the confidence and glimpses of vulnerability needed to play Tiffany. Tiffany went through several iterations. She was initially meant to be goth. Lawrence dyed her hair black and did test shoots in heavy goth makeup, but Weinstein disapproved. The final version of her character remained messed-up yet confident, with small goth touches such as the dark hair and a cross. Specifically for the role, Lawrence was asked by Russell to put on weight"Jennifer Lawrence in ''Silver Linings Playbook''"
. ''NYTimes.com''. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
and to speak in a lower register. According to ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'', Lawrence said she didn't have a handle on Tiffany at first, which was what excited her about the role. "She was just a character I one-hundred percent did not understand at all... She's like, 'I'm messed up, I'm not like everybody else, I've got issues. Take it or leave it because I like myself. Lawrence and Cooper had no previous dance experience. In less than a month,
Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...
, a choreographer for '' So You Think You Can Dance'', taught them the dance sequences. Moore describes Cooper as having "some real natural dancing ability". Lawrence said of the climactic ballroom dance, "None of that was improvised, absolutely not. I'm a terrible dancer, so I would never have been able to do any of that. When it finally came together, that scene really was just as fun as it feels."


Release

The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2012, where it won the People's Choice Award. It opened at the 2012 Mumbai Film Festival on October 18, 2012, and received a limited release in the United States on November 16, 2012, opening wider later that week. The Weinstein Company initially planned an unusually wide release for ''Silver Linings Playbook'', going nationwide on an estimated 2,000 screens. They were encouraged by positive reviews and hoping to capitalize on Thanksgiving to do more business. Instead, they took a more slow-burn approach, opening in fewer theaters, expanding gradually, in a strategy to build up word-of-mouth support. Continuing the slow release the film expanded to 700 theaters on December 25.


Home media

''Silver Linings Playbook'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 30, 2013 by
Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television se ...
.


Reception


Critical response

''Silver Linings Playbook'' premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and was critically acclaimed. The film has an approval rating of 92% on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
based on 260 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Silver Linings Playbook'' walks a tricky thematic tightrope, but David O. Russell's sensitive direction and some sharp work from a talented cast gives it true balance." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, the film holds an average score of 81, based on reviews from 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Cooper and Lawrence were lauded for their performances. Kevin Jagernauth of ''The Playlist'' praised the film as "an enormously entertaining, crowd-pleasing winner" and noted that the performances from the two leads were "carefully developed, and perfectly pitched", deserving of awards. David Rooney of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' said that "the chemistry between Cooper and Lawrence makes them a delight to watch" and that their performances anchor the ensemble cast who also give great performances even in small roles. Rooney also complimented the "invigorating messiness" and "nervous energy" of the choreography. Richard Corliss of ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine also applauded the performances of the leads, particularly Lawrence, stating that her performance is "the reason to stay" to watch the whole movie, and praising her maturity. Russell's direction was also widely acclaimed, with Justin Chang of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' writing: "Never one to shy away from unlikely sources of comedy, David O. Russell tackles mental illness, marital failure and the curative powers of football with bracingly sharp and satisfying results." Eric Kohn of
Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
gave the film an "A−" grade, praising the performances of both Cooper and Lawrence and also Russell's directing, stating that "both as solo screenwriter and director, Russell assembles a small, bubbly cast for an unexpectedly charming romcom that frequently dances — at one point, quite literally — between cynicism and bittersweetness with largely winning results." Ann Hornaday of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' remarked on Russell's skill, noting how "in any other hands, the adaptation of Matthew Quick's novel would be the stuff of banal rom-com fluff or, perhaps worse, self-consciously quirky indie cliches."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film three and a half out of four stars, saying that the film was "so good, it could almost be a terrific old classic" and described Russell's screenplay as "ingenious" for the way the major concerns of both the father and son pivot on the final bet. Kenneth Turan called the film "a complete success" and the actors' performances "superb," including Chris Tucker in an "irresistible" supporting turn.
Steven Rea Steven Rea (also known as Steven X. Rea) is an American journalist, film critic,
of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...
'' called the film "a transcendent endeavor, from its exhilaratingly smart screenplay... to the unexpected and moving turns of its two leads."
Ricardo Baca Ricardo Baca (born ) is an American journalist best known for being the first full-time marijuana rights editor for a major American newspaper. He was an editor at ''The Denver Post'', producing ''The Cannabist'' for over three years until Decem ...
of ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'' praised how the movie managed to maintain "the laughs, giddy anxiousness and warm butterflies from the trailer" for its entire length. Peter Travers of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' called it "one of the year's best movies. It's crazy good." Negative reviews of the film came from ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', whose critic David Denby called it "a miscalculation from beginning to end" and found Cooper's character "tiresome","Animal instincts"
by David Denby, ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', November 26, 2012 (Accessed April 5, 2015)
while
Richard Brody Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999. Education Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He firs ...
found ''Linings'' perhaps to "be the year's most artificial movie" and "the plot ..utterly ridiculous.""The book on Silver Linings Playbook"
by
Richard Brody Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999. Education Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He firs ...
, ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', November 20, 2012 (Accessed April 5, 2015)
In a rare step outside the magazine's typical practices, Brody revisited the movie and wrote a supplementary review, once again condemning it as having "no characters but sets of switches, each of which has a binary set of options and all of which have to line up for things to come out right." Brody wrote, "I'm finding it hard not to make fun of the movie's highly constructed and narrow-bore array of givens, of plot points and their resolutions.""Silver Linings Encore"
by
Richard Brody Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999. Education Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He firs ...
, ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', December 12, 2012 (Accessed April 5, 2015)
Both critics found Lawrence's Oscar-winning performance "unconvincing." Denby wrote, "we don't believe iffanyfor a second when she says that, in her grief, she 'had sex with everyone in my office.' Lawrence is tough and proud, and always plays strong, and the remark doesn't track with anything we see onscreen." Brody finds Lawrence, "a poised and graceful actress", who "has none of the wildness that her character needs—and that lack of wildness is part of the reason for the movie's success." Robbie Collin of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' wrote that there's a "tiring fruitlessness to the mayhem", describing the lead character as a "rambling headcase", though noting Lawrence as the film's "only silver lining". ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
''s chief film critic, Liam Lacey, gave three out of four stars, but wrote "you can easily see ''Silver Linings Playbook'' as a better-acted version of any number of
Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pla ...
-style films about quirky outsiders who find a common bond." The NFL was critical of the gambling in the film and declined to broadcast an interview with Bradley Cooper and Chris Tucker during
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
.


Box office

The film earned $443,003 in its opening weekend from 16 locations, facing strong competition from films including ''
Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...
'' and '' Lincoln''. Expanding to 367 locations in its second week, the film moved to ninth place with $4.4 million. By December 30, it was showing at 745 theaters and had earned $27.3 million. On January 18, 2013, it earned $12.7 million when it expanded to 2,523 theaters, which boosted its total to $56.7 million. In its second weekend of playing in over 2500 theaters, its sales only declined by 12.2%. Gitesh Pandya stated it was well on its way to reaching the $100 million mark and could go much higher if it remained durable over the weeks. Ray Subers forecast the film would earn $100 million, predicting that the film would start slow but keep going through December and gain a wide audience, bringing in fans of Lawrence and Cooper from their work on big franchise films, '' The Hunger Games'' and ''
The Hangover ''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, E ...
'', respectively. The film surpassed the $100 million mark in North America on February 19, 2013. As of May 11, 2013, the movie has become a sleeper box office hit, making over eleven times its budget.


Accolades

The film was nominated for eight
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
including Best Picture, Best Director for Russell,
Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...
, Best Film Editing,
Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...
for Cooper, Best Actress for Lawrence, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro and Best Supporting Actress for Weaver. Jennifer Lawrence's performance won the movie its only
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and it made her the second-youngest winner in the Best Actress category, only behind
Marlee Matlin Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a ...
in '' Children of a Lesser God''.


Top ten lists

* Cinemablend listed the film at 8 on its list of the year's 10 best. * Critic Catherine Shoard of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' listed the film at number 4 on her list of the year's 10 best.


Music


Soundtrack

''Silver Linings Playbook: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' is a soundtrack to the film of the same name, released in the United States by
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
on November 16, 2012 for digital download. The lead single from the soundtrack, " Silver Lining (Crazy 'Bout You)" peaked at #100 in the UK Singles. The soundtrack includes music from
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...
, the
Dave Brubeck Quartet David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contras ...
,
Alt-J Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwilym Sainsbur ...
,
Eagles of Death Metal Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band' ...
,
Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
and two tracks from the score composed by Danny Elfman. Not featured on the soundtrack include Led Zeppelin's "
What Is and What Should Never Be "What Is and What Should Never Be" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and was included as the second track on '' Led Zeppelin II'' (1969). Composition and recording "What is and What Shoul ...
" and
The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...
' " Hello Operator". Stevie Wonder's " Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" and The White Stripes' " Fell in Love with a Girl" are played as the opening numbers of Pat and Tiffany's dance scene; " Misty" performed by
Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
, is played after Pat and Tiffany learn they received an average of 5.0 for their dance number. "
Wild Is the Wind ''Wild is the Wind'' is a 1957 film directed by George Cukor and starring Anna Magnani, Anthony Quinn, and Anthony Franciosa. It tells the story of an American rancher who, after his wife dies, goes to Italy to marry her sister, but finds that s ...
" performed by
Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...
, which is played at the start of the film's end credits. Also not on the soundtrack are, and the opening numbers of their dance scene


Score

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
's score for the film was released on digital download by
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
simultaneously with the song album. "Goof Track" is not heard in the film.


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Linings Playbook 2012 films 2012 romantic comedy-drama films Adultery in films American football films American romantic comedy-drama films American dance films Ballroom dancing films Films scored by Danny Elfman Films about dance competitions Films about dysfunctional families Films about widowhood Films about bipolar disorder Films based on American novels Films based on romance novels Films directed by David O. Russell Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance Films set in 2008 Films set in psychiatric hospitals Films set in Philadelphia Films shot in Pennsylvania Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award Gambling films Independent Spirit Award for Best Film winners Philadelphia Eagles Films about depression BAFTA winners (films) Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners 2012 comedy films 2012 drama films The Weinstein Company films 2010s English-language films Films produced by Bruce Cohen 2010s American films