REVIEW: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Here is the blessing and the curse of awards season: you see these extremely well received films you hear so much about, that are going to go down in film history possibly....and some of them disappoint you. I had the problem with "War Horse" in 2011, with "True Grit" in 2010 (it was just like the original!) and "A Serious Man" in 2009. All of those were up for Best Picture...and you know...they were OK. You can't help it! Going into these Oscar hopefuls, your expectations are insurmountably high, and when they don't deliver, boy, is it a letdown. David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" doesn't have that problem, however. The film opens pleasantly enough in a mental hospital, where Pat (Bradley Cooper) is just being released from. His friend Danny, (Chris Tucker, who retrospectively doesn't add much to the film besides diversity, but he's still funny!) hops a ride with him and his mom, Oscar nominee Jac...