The movie is about a man recently released from a court-ordered stint in a mental institution, played by Bradley Cooper, who comes home to rebuild his life and reconcile with his estranged wife. He moves back in with his parents, played by Robert De Niro and Jackie Weaver, and soon meets an equally crazy mysterious woman, played by Jennifer Lawrence. They decide to help each other by competing in a dance competition and working to get Cooper's marriage back on track. Actually, if you want the entire movie synopsis check out, http://www.themoviespoiler.com/Spoilers/silverlinings.html, which was written by Yours Truly.
I wasn't surprised to learn that this movie was adapted from a novel as the characters and plot follows a sort of novel-esque pattern. It's actually hard to put into words, but I left the theater thinking, 'I bet that would make a good book'. There were unique characters with some extreme personality quirks that worked together and the plot advanced in the same way you'd expect a novel to. I guess what I'm trying to say is that under different circumstances (i.e. different director, actors, cinematography etc), this movie could've been quite generic and boring. Fortunately, the actors were ridiculously superbly awesome with their characters that it felt natural and not like it was pulled from a book. A little hyperbolic? Perhaps. The plot did have some very fortunate coincidences in it, but overall everything felt very smooth and realistic, even though things seemed to progress a little quickly. Yes, it was a light mental illness movie and the characters were cute-crazy instead of scary-real-crazy, but I didn't care because I was walking into a semi-romantic-comedy and not a depressing mental illness movie. 
The soundtrack was pretty spot-on. especially the Alabama Shakes song, 'Always Alright'. Oh, yeah and a Danny Elfman score. There was also a lot of hand-held camera work which worked perfectly with the intimate feel of most of the scenes. The pacing was perfect in the humorous spots and the more serious. There was a lot of great decisions made in this movie. It's from the same director who did The Fighter (David O. Russell), so I can't say I'm surprised there. He let the comedy take over in the right spots and left it to the actors for the drama. There was also a very nice balance between the comedy and drama making it the right kind of dramedy, which is of course my personal favorite genre.
Jennifer Lawrence was at the top of her game in this movie. Her diversity, at least in the handful of roles I've been lucky enough to see her in, is just incredible. Aside from looking great in the movie, she really jumped into this character and made it a real character instead of the female protagonist. I'd read that other actresses, such as Rachel McAdams, Kirsten Dunst, Rooney Mara, and Elizabeth Banks, were considered and Anne Hathaway was actually cast but had to drop out. I'm a pretty big fan of Anne Hathaway but honestly, I can't see this character being as likable as she was while still retaining her flaws with any other actress. She brought her hardcore-ness to the role while (amazingly) somehow bringing vulnerability at the same time. I'll say that this is probably my favorite role of hers to date. Bradley Cooper on the other hand, was also superb. He had the difficult task of making mental illness look normal and un-cliched. His character also had to grow and develop in the movie, in a natural way. It is a movie after all and with the exception of maybe one pivotal cliched scene, he got it right. He brought subtle humor with his timing and delivery in a different way than I've seen before. Robert De Niro brought a vulnerability to his role as well which is something I haven't seen from him in quite some time. I especially enjoyed Jacki Weaver's role as the wife of Robert De Niro. Her comedy and balance to the crazy around her just added to the overall greatness of the film.
In the end, I think the plot was decent and had only a couple of cliched ultra convenient parts but what really brought this movie to life was the actors and direction. The movie was vivacious, fun, depressing, and crazy. They obviously saw the potential from the script and ran with it. I'd say it had a pretty good balance between the comedy and drama with maybe a teensy tiny bit more comedy than drama. That being said, the demographic audience may be slightly more female than male, but really anyone who enjoys a good dramedy with ultra good-looking actors will enjoy. "I'm not going to ask you any more questions about that. How many people did you sleep with?"
Update: This movie has been (rightfully so) nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and therefore has become part of my pact to view all nominated films. I'm extremely happy with all of the acclaim this movie has received, given my love for the film. Personally, I'd love to see it win but I can't really give even an educated guess until I've seen the rest.
Update: This movie has been (rightfully so) nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and therefore has become part of my pact to view all nominated films. I'm extremely happy with all of the acclaim this movie has received, given my love for the film. Personally, I'd love to see it win but I can't really give even an educated guess until I've seen the rest.
