A funny thing happened on the way home from the mental hospital. This is the setup for Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper as the manic depressive on the way home after 8 months away. If this seems like a tough setup, be aware that he thinks he's more Randle McMurphy than Rain Man. Watch closely because this movie is shifting gears quicker than you think. What starts out as a gritty "just out of jail" story turns into something else. Pat Jr. comes home to Mom and Dad (nicely played by Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro) and has to adjust to being home into a world that he did not leave so nicely 8 months ago. Jennifer Lawrence plays his new friend who has problems of her own. Who's better/worse off?
Many different movies are evoked here: To name a few without giving everything away: Ordinary People, Rocky, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rain Main, Diner. If you see the movie, you can fill in more toward the end.
I saw this one twice. The first time I gave it three stars. On second review, * * * * of 4
Like The Descendants, you have to look through some of the bad family issues to see its center.
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