The Life's Good Side

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2014)

Knowing that "Silver Linings Playbook" won an Oscar for the best performance by an actress in leading role, I decided to give it a chance and see what's going on. The story is basically about a mentally ill guy coming back to his house after spending eight months in the hospital. In this return, everyone is willing to help him dealing with life more calmly, but things don't always work like this. To make it harder for him-- in a first sight--, Pat meets a girl named Tiffany who isn't exactly a role model of mental stability. In fact, sometimes we wonder who has a bigger mental problem, given that both characters face these problems with a considerable frequency. The good thing about that explosive behavior is that it delivers some funny scenes, like the first dinner they have together, in which they explode with rudeness to everybody gathered in the table. I don't honestly know what I felt so funny about that scene, but people acting rude all of a sudden usually makes me laugh, for being so spontaneous. The plot makes it an entertaining movie, mainly because the pace is fast and we care about the main characters. There aren't many thrilling scenes, and the climax is well reached in the dancing scene-- and deliver another funny moment, since nobody could understand why they've felt so happy after receiving a five grade. It's also good to see Robert DeNiro portraying something different than a rough father/grandfather who in the end becomes sensitive and kind; in fact, his character is reasonable all the way through the story. By the way, for some moments Tiffany remembered me a lot the character Penny from the series "The Big Bang Theory", despite the fact Tiffany is really crazy hehe. All in all, it just doesn't deserve a better rating because it never accomplish to be too emotional, romantic or funny, but it's in no way a bad film. Also, I can understand why Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for having the best performance-- if I agree with that is another discussion.