Game Plan

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2013)

As a saying goes when the door is shut, god opens a window. Yeah we all had out down points in life, however the truth about life is it's most of the time a matter of how you get back up from troubled circumstances is what counts. This is one of those romance stories I really like because like any plan in football that works it runs toward the goal line.
With any good romance stories and dramas this film has characters that I actually care about and really like. But also really love the quarky, bizarre yet down to earth nature of the film.
The dialog in this film is great, it is at times a little strange and humorous but I feel that's what makes the characters seem more human. It really felt like I was hearing people talking and not just fictional characters.
Pat is played well by Bradley Cooper this is probably my favorite role from him for now. Pat is a broken guy you really feel pathos for. The legal and psychological troubles he's been though, sure what it did isn't completely right, but the guy he beat up wasn't innocent; along with a painful divorce. I like how his aggressive attitude toward things which is not just a psychological problem but a quark. One really funny scene is when he does a rant on a Ernest Heminway book which he literally throws out the window, it's funny because he kinda makes a point. He wants to rejoin life again but the problem is he's calling the wrong play.
I really like how the film at times has some really intense scenes. Like one where Pat was acting out a bit from the fact he couldn't find the wedding video, you can't help but feel for the guy as he has both anger and sadness combined, the fact that the wedding video is gone reflects the life he can't get back because to him that was the only times of happiness. But I really like the humanity of his character, whenever he feels he letting people down whether it's his mom, dad, or Tiffany he feels awful about it and himself; I feel it shows he's not a selfish person he really does care about other people and letting them down is the last thing he wants.
However my favorite character in the film is Tiffany, played brilliantly by Jennifer Laurence whom I think is kinda hot and a more than capable actress. Her character reminds me a little of April Ludgate from "Parks and Recreation" whom is also a little similar. I really love how fiery, feisty, energetic, a little bizarre, dark, she has charisma which is black, quarky, or clever. However the best thing about her to me is the fact that she accepts that she's not perfect she has her psychological troubles but she accepts them. She also a character you feel pathos for since like with Pat had to endure a loss, with her though it was the loss of her husband. I like that she's is ambitious in a way, she loves dancing and wants to be a champion but also doesn't want to be alone wants someone in her life again.
You already know in the film both really are a good match for one another. Both are somewhat the same, like with Pat she's also has aggression in an intense scene in the restaurant just seeing her exercise it makes me feel she might be more aggressive than Pat. Both are broken and are trying to get their lives back together as well have more in their life that they haven't had. And the chemistry between them is great I really love the banter between them, there are sparks whether they know it or not, and they support one another in a way; heck both of them dance well together so that ought to say something.
And you want both of them together but not just yet because like with any good romance story I feel one or both have to earn it first. And both do, in a way the film is a bit like a Howard Hawks film, as the film goes on both characters grow, Pat becomes more of a man and Tiffany more of a woman. And as that happens both start connecting, say things they probably never said to anyone else.
However this I don't think is just a romance about two people but it's also about love for family.
The supporting characters are also really good each with quarks and trouble of their own. Robert De Nero as Pat Sr I thought was great, just like his son he's psychologically troubled. And just like his son has a humanity, really like this one touching moment when he has a talk down with Pat and admits he hasn't been the best father. And we see in the film both of them also start growing closer becoming in touch with one another again.
I've said enough, Silver Linings Playbook is a touchdown.
Rating: 4 stars