Pat and Tiffany are the love couple of the 2010s.

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2013)

This movie is not a comedy. It's about how mental illness impacts an entire family, and community. Bradley Cooper's performance is brilliant. He carries this movie. The movie is character driven; it's about a mentally ill person who is trying to come to terms with people he believes he hurt while at the same time trying to accept the fact that he is mentally ill. The movie deals with issues of noncompliance with medications, resistance to treatment, parent-child issues, marital discord, domestic violence, and personal redemption. Jennifer Lawrence is endearing as a vulnerable young woman who masks her vulnerability with bravado. Robert DeNiro is great as Bradley Cooper's father. His character has issues too, which is why this movie is so wonderful: everybody in the movie has issues, and isn't that what life is about - dealing with issues? The movie generates few laughs because it's story is too serious, too down to earth and too realistic. After all, what is so funny about somebody being released from a mental hospital? One other point: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in the dance scene are wonderful. Two endearing characters that the audience can root for, this makes for a wonderful movie. And if the plot is contrived, so what? It's a movie, and it's about people dealing with issues. Mental illness is debilitating and the recovery process can be rocky. The movie dramatizes that without becoming corny. Bradley Cooper deserves all the recognition he may receive for a strong acting performance of a complex character. After watching this movie one can leave the theater feeling not only entertained but sensitized to the needs of the mentally ill. After all, Pat can be anyone of us, and what happens to him can become anyone's story. Pat and Tiffany are the love couple of the 2010s; they have replaced George and Martha and Oliver and Barbara as icons for the dysfunctional couple and for this reason: Pat and Tiffany ring true; their relationship is strained yet passionate without being theatrical. The mother signing out her son; the father struggling to connect with his son; a young woman who feels cheated by life; and a man who is coming to terms with his own vulnerability all make for an excellent movie.