We've All Got Issues

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2015)

This film is a quirky drama with an underlying comedic tone throughout starring Bradley Cooper as Pat Solatano and Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany. Having been released from a brief stay at a psychiatric institution Pat moves in with his Parents in Philadelphia and he is bent on becoming a better person and staying rehabilitated - his primary motivation being to reconnect with his estranged wife who has a restraining order against him. Pat is determined to stay positive and look for the silver linings in his life despite many obstacles he faces in the wake of being incarcerated for beating a man nearly to death whom Pat caught his wife cheating with. Of the challenges he faces, the biggest ones are internal. Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Pat experiences sudden changes in mood. The fact that he refuses to take his prescribed medication only serves to make the problem worse.
Pat is obsessed with winning back his wife and is chasing the carrot that everyone around him is certain he can't catch. Like Pat, everyone has their own problems, but believing that a happy ending is possible is the one thing we need to get what we want out of life and most of the time the main obstacle is ourselves. This is a driving theme throughout this film much akin to the film Good Will Hunting (Damon & Affleck, 1997) where we see a character that gets in his own way and doesn't see true happiness at first though it is right in front of him.
In Pat's quest for self-betterment and winning back his wife's heart he meets Tiffany, who he quickly learns is just as dysfunctional as he isif not more. This common thread initiates a friendship that allows them to help each other understand their issues and deal with them better. As time goes on we see the development of a crush that Tiffany has on Pat that does not appear to be reciprocated, yet a friendship has begun. Though an attraction exist on Pat's part, he must decide which relationship is an illusion and which one has the silver lining he is looking for.
Throughout the film we get acquainted with Pat's father, Pat Sr., and continue to get a deeper understanding of his love for the Philadelphia Eagles and his strong superstition. Pat Sr. is strongly convicted of the fact that his son is a good luck charm and consistently pressures Pat to watch the Eagles play under the guise of needing bonding time with his son. We see just how strong Pat Sr.'s superstition is when he begs Pat to watch the game with him at a time when Pat has a previous commitment with Tiffany, who is helping Pat become a more controlled person. Eventually, Pat Sr. learns that his superstition was an illusion and that even if had been real, he would have been lost a bet he hung his superstition on anyway.
This film shows us that we can be our own worst enemies. By believing that what we want is possible we can still end up with the result we want but a great deal of heartache can be avoided if we open our proverbial eyes and get out of our own way.