A terrific, highly original film with exceptional performances!!!

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2013)

Kudos to writer/director David O. Russell (The Fighter / Three Kings) for doing an exceptional job getting extraordinary performances from his stellar cast. This is a film which has done the impervious task of securing Academy Award Nominations in every acting category, a feat that has been accomplished since Warren Beatty's "Reds" in 1981, and the first film to receive four acting nominations since 2008's "Doubt." The writing is brilliant, and the acting is radiant as Bradley Cooper (Patrick) and Jennifer Lawrence (Tiffany) light up the screen in this very original, highly entertaining romantic comedy. I really believe that Academy will reward David O. Russell for his Adapted screenplay of the Matthew Quick novel "Silver Linings".
Jennifer Lawrence is definitely deserving of her Academy Nomination and Golden Globe win for Best Actress as Tiffany Maxwell in this film. A role I would have never imagined that this 'Hunger Games' star could ever pull off, Lawrence proves that she is a force to be reckoned on the Hollywood scene and a certified "A" list actress for this performance. The Tiffany Maxwell character is a certified nut case. Coping with the recent death of her police officer husband, Tiffany resorts to sex to cope with her stress.
Equally unparalleled is Bradley Cooper's performance as Patrick. Again, a role I would have never expected Cooper to be able to accomplish. The Patrick character is an undiagnosed bi-polar individual with moods swings and delusions brought on by severe stress, or in other words, 'he's cuckoo for cocoa puffs"!!! As the film opens, Patrick has been incarcerated the past 8 months in a psychiatric facility after he inadvertently walked in on his wife having an affair.
To round out this delicious cast of miscreants is Robert de Niro as Patrick's dad, Pat Sr. The Patrick Sr character is an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) suffering die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, who is tremendously superstitious and has recently lost his job and pension. In order to make ends meet, Patrick Sr runs a book-making operation from his home. He has also been permanently banned from all Philadelphia Eagles home games due to an altercation in which he started a fight within the confines of the stadium. I really believe that the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is a two horse race between De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook) and Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), both performances are worthy of their nominations.
I would like to acknowledge some very noteworthy cameo appearances in this film from Chris Tucker (who really needs to have David O. Russell direct him in a full fledge film). Tucker was funny, entertaining, and a joy to watch on screen. Also Julia Stiles role as Veronica (Tiffany's sister) was another fantastic performance, and Stiles never has looked more beautiful on screen.
My only drawback to this whole film would have to be the film's climax. After 110 minutes of some really great dialog, plot twists, some pure lunacy, and some really great acting. I feel that David O. Russell, just kind of phoned the film's climax in. The last 12 minutes of this film culminate at a Philadelphia Dance event in which Tiffany has wanted to enter all her life. We not talking 'barnyard' prom dance of "Footloose", or 'resort talent show' dance of "Dirty Dancing", but full fledge "Dancing with the Stars" Ballroom competitive professional Dancing. A sequence painful to watch; both Cooper and Lawrence were uncomfortable at best on the dance floor and I literally cringed during their pinnacle 'lift' move which had Jennifer crouch area awkwardly situated in/on/at Cooper's face (it really reminded me of the "Police Squad" movies sequences where Leslie Neilson would have OJ Simpson's crouch in his face for comedic relief) to make matters even worst, the recovery move was equally excruciating to endure. However, I digress
Again, I truly enjoyed this film. I highly recommend seeing this very original film with fantastic performances from a stellar cast. Well deserving of all the pre-season award nomination accolades/attention that it is receiving.