Was a lot better than I thought.

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 2013)

Did not know too much about this film before I saw it, and I honestly didn't hear too many good things about it. Aside from the critical acclaim from all the hot critics, and the Oscars, people I knew said it was kind of pretentious. While I'll admit it is that a little bit, I enjoyed the heck out of this film. The story is very interesting, and stays focused throughout, and the performances by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are amazing.
Pat, (Bradley Cooper) leaves an institution eight months after being diagnosed bipolar, and when he nearly beat his wife's lover to death. Now free, he moves in with his parents, (Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver) and attempts to get his life in order, trying to get in contact with his wife Nikki, (Brea Bree) who has filed a restraining order against him. His life takes a drastic turn when he develops a friendship with his good friend's sister-in-law Tiffany, (Jennifer Lawrence) who has similar medical problems as him, after her husband died.
Cooper's bipolar character, while being very crazy and psychotic, (shown in several scenes) makes you feel very sorry for him, and you want to see him get better. Despite what happens, I always felt for him, and cared about him. The same goes with his parents, who are worried about their son's well being, and his good friend Danny, (Chris Tucker) who has troubles leaving the institution.
The performances are very amazing. Jennifer Lawrence, while being a psychotic nut, also has a lot of emotional scenes that you reach out to, as you learn of her past.
The story always manages to keep you focused on what's going on, and never leaves anybody behind. The film itself is very fast-paced and quickly edited, but it slows down when it calls for an important scene. It never gets slow though, every scene is either emotionally charming, or dramatically intense.
When people called this pretentious, I sort of saw what they meant, but not that much. Like I guess at the end when she sees him talking to his wife, and automatically assumes he's with her. Then he chases her, revealing that a note supposedly given to him by his wife was written by her, and that he's loved her since the day he met her, and they fall in love. I suppose that was a little pretentious, but it's not that noticeable. You don't focus on whats all ready been done. You just focus on how it all works out in this film. He loves her because they have similar problems, and they connect perfectly. You find out that he is okay without his wife, and he wants her. Nothing is really wrong with that, but at the same time, they could have done it with a little more creatively, but it's whatever. It's still beautifully written. Even though some dialogue is just thrown in for the sake of keeping the pace of the film, there were some scenes where I was literally getting goosebumps by how funny or clever the dialogue was. The film's comic parts can get really funny, just on how goofy and needlessly intense they are.
So aside from a couple of pretentious plots, this film was so good. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and I would definitely see it again, not only because I laughed and was amazed by it, but also to see that Jennifer Lawrence booty shake in that dance scene...mmmmm.