La Vida Loca: Silver Linings Playbook

As anyone who saw me the night after I saw Silver Linings Playbook will attest, I absolutely loved this film.

Jennifer Lawrence, whom I first noted as the most enjoyable aspect about X-men First Class, is just brimming with charisma. Tiffany, her character, is one of my favourite female leads that I have seen for ages: she is the modern Annie Hall, whilst being almost entirely the opposite of that eponymous flighty dame.
Let me explain: Annie is possibly the best example of a manic pixie dream girl ever seen in a mainstream romantic comedy- she's cute, she's eccentric (but believably so), and, perhaps most tellingly, she's unhappy in her life but hides it behind a winning smile and a well-practiced sense of whimsy. Tiffany is cute...and the similarities end there. Tiffany isn't eccentric- she's mentally unbalanced (arguably) but all her actions have a logic that is perfectly evident- what's more, she calls out Pat, her male counterpart, on his very eccentric actions of ordering raisin bran for dinner and freaking out when he hears a certain song. And Tiffany does not hide her damage the way Annie does- but she is definitely content to be the way she is.
And that's why I love this film: it's about the search for happiness. And not in an American constitution way, but in a relatable, universal kind of way. Pat and Tiffany don't care about getting 'better', as long as they're happy. And that's beautiful. The scene where Tiffany declares herself a slob and a slut and then goes on to state how she likes that part of herself is absolutely joyful to watch, because it's not forced. It's completely believable and it's a lovely sentiment to see put out in a world which can sometimes seem so much about putting people down. Also, since I made a point of this with Zero Dark Thirty, I should say that I very much admire the gender politics of that declaration.
And, I should say, this film is funny; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs funny. There are a lot of good lines in the trailer, and this tone is extended to the entire film. As previously hinted, the film it reminds me of most is Annie Hall: it's just a really well-made romantic comedy, and, like Annie Hall or When Harry Met Sally, it reminds us that no genre is beyond redemption and that execution is everything. The addition of a thesis about mental illness and the power of positive thinking does the story no harm at all and artfully elevates it to be a cut-above its all-too-often cookie-cutter peers.
I've gushed about Lawrence, but I should also mention Bradley Cooper: he does an extraordinary job with a very difficult role. His is the part that would, in other comedies, be relegated to that of the 'quirky' (read: socially damaged) best friend whom the audience is almost entirely convinced has a mental illness that the characters in the film are rather cruelly ignoring. (The fact that Pat, Cooper's character, has such a best friend who is actually properly diagnosed is also a welcome change.) Cooper transitions him to leading man with aplomb, like Lawrence, mixing earnestness, believability and just sheer brilliant comedic timing into a wonderful performance. Robert De Niro also delivers an engaging turn as Pat's father- on the surface, he seems like a typical movie father- distanced, a tad severe but ultimately good-hearted. As the film goes on we see another part to him, and I really admire the revelations the film adds to what could have been a stereotypical character.
And I think that's what I like about this film so much- it takes a story that is very firmly in a genre (romantic comedy) that is for the most part entirely played out, and twists it to breathe in new life (much like Annie Hall, fancy that). It puts in some serious examination to character archetypes that we're all familiar with (the damaged hero, his manic pixie dream girl, the stoic father, the wacky best friend) and then tells us what could really be behind these character traits in real life but loses none of the humor that makes these films so watchable to begin with.
I should say that it's not absolutely perfect: there is a scene, which establishes the stakes for the denouement, which  does drag on a bit and, to be honest, maybe takes the realism of the dialogue a little bit too far (but in no way to the same degree as Zero Dark Thirty), but that's the only part of the film that made me wish it would speed up.
I thoroughly recommend it for everyone: it'll warm your hearts, exercise your brain and make you chuckle. Who could ask for more?