Silver Linings Playbook

 I loved a lot of things about this movie like the engaging, tactile performances of Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and especially Jacki Weaver.  It grounded all the craziness and the hectic tempo and made the whole film watchable.  I laughed.  I was drawn in.  At times I thought it channeled "Always Sunny in Philadelphia", which isn't a bad thing.  Keep Jennifer Lawrence and cast someone else as Pat.  Bradley Cooper didn’t fit.  He did a fine job but the casting wasn’t right.  Blame David O. Russell and all the executives for that one.

 I enjoyed the movie while watching it but I soon forgot about it.  What is it about "Silver Linings Playbook" that I can't swallow?  It won Audience Choice for Best Picture at the Toronto Film Festival so audiences like it.  Is it a, gulp, audience pleaser?  

 It had unusual three-dimensional believable characters that I wanted to listen to and follow around.  I remember all of them.  It felt crowded. 

 There was no intense emotional content.  It followed a classic form and structure so there are no surprises.  It was predictable.  I liked the happy ending and then forgot about it before the credits ended.  There was no impact.  I want impact.  

 I don’t believe or feel deep in my bones that Tiffany and Pat fell in love.  They got together in the end because the screenplay called for it.  It had to be.  Pat wrote a letter to Tiffany to tell her he loved her and that is the only indication that he felt that way.  I never saw it.  I never felt it.    

 A twenty-year age difference can put a damper on that kind of chemistry.  Why can't they be just a few years apart?  I can't make the leap.   Why can't they be the coolest odd couple in the world?  They aren’t. 

 This is a romantic comedy.  It has to express that the couple on the screen are passionate about each other, in some way.  It should be unrequited love, forbidden love, or love of two ships passing in the night.  It can't be a love that is expressed in a letter with two minutes left in the film. Surprise, Pat fell in love with Tiffany.

 If you saw the film do you remember Pat and Tiffany as a couple?  I don’t.  I think they had a few dates after the ending and broke up.  This is what disappoints me the most about "Silver Linings Playbook".  I can't jump on the Toronto band wagon yet.  I can recommend it as a crowd pleaser, and I guess that isn’t such a bad thing. 
 I will reserve judgment until I see it a second time.  The theater was full when I saw it the first time and I hate sitting next to people at a movie.  I like about 20 people max, all evenly spread out.  I need an empty row in front of me and behind me.  I need empty seats on either side of me.  I need room for my coffee thermos, my notebook, backpack, and coat.  I like it the most when there is no one else in the theater.  Then if I fall asleep during the movie it's no big deal.