Is it a good movie? Yes. Is it Oscars good? Not even close.

Rating: 7/10 (18 February 2013)

In essence, Silver Linings Playbook was a good movie. The actors were good, the script was good... But really, that's all it was. It didn't move me to tears, or even any sort of heightened emotional plane. It just.. was.
I thought by not seeing the trailer I would avoid over-hyping and then being disappointed later on, but alas, this was not the case. The rather lacklustre trailer pretty much echoed the film in its entirety.
First of all, I'm baffled as to why the movie is even called Silver Linings Playbook. He mentions Silver Linings a handful of times.. And doesn't speak anything of a playbook. So. That confused me. I at least thought it might have been about writing down his "Silver Linings" moments, but no. Even the notion or symbolic nature of a playbook or anything wasn't even present... So whatever. It was just him muttering about it now and then. If anything the film should have been called "Excelsior".
The acting was good. Bradley Cooper went further than he has before and Jennifer Lawrence was consistent as usual. Their performances were good, and the whole cast was too, as a whole. But did any of them really move me? Make a connection with me? No. Honestly, the best cast members were the supporting roles, and I was left feeling underwhelmed by the leads. The only one that came close to being interesting and who really BECAME his character was Robert De Niro. In my opinion, that's the only Oscar the film deserves - his supporting.
Also, as an editor I find it ridiculous that this film is even considered for an Editing Oscar. The editing is alright, but nothing to write home about. There were multiple continuity errors that took me out of the moment.
The story, apart from being a bit confusing in terms of the whole silver linings/excelsior stuff and a few plot points that fizzled into nothing, was good. It was a sweet and simple, touching story. The ending was a bit rushed and lame (I would have preferred it to have just ended at the concert at the end), but eh.
Also, as someone with mental health problems, I did expect to have more of a connection with the film. Alas, I didn't.
All in all, I did enjoy it. But would I see it again? Probably not.