The Upside of Anger

The.Upside.of.Anger.2005.720p.BluRay.H264.AAC-RARBG

source: The Upside of Anger

If you are a man and were not offended by this movie you are probably gay. Everything wrong with women's attitudes towards father's and men are showcased in the two hours this movie plays. Let me explain. Husband of 30 years goes missing. Wife assumes he's a cad. Doesn't report him missing. Doesn't call police. Doesn't even call his office. Has an affair with the next door neighbor. Poisons his children into believing her horribly wrong assumption. Destroys his reputation by telling everyone she knows what she wants people to believe he did to her. She is so self-centered she doesn't even know if her husband exists. She slaps her daughters boyfriend because her trust issues run so deep she has uncontrolled violence towards men. The man didn't strike back, which was a joke. The romance with the neighbor is a joke. The woman is so vile, no self-respecting man would go near her. She offers absolutely nothing. She disrespects every male within hearing distant. She is a contradiction. She wants her children to go to college but doesn't bother asking them. She is so self-centered, she couldn't possibly care about her children. The worst moment in the film was when she lead her children to announce they hate their father. And worse yet, the kids (all girls) readily accepts this garbage. I guess father's rank right up there with dog poo. The second worst moment in the film was after the funeral the witch and her brood are sitting at a picnic table with the witch's boyfriend, and they start laughing and smiling all gay and happy, confirming the father was indeed dog poo. Yes folks. Not a tear in site for dear old dad, who died and was forgotten quicker than they could get our of the funeral attire. The men are dog poo, the women are self-centered, self-righteous, witches, and the children are dumb as logs. So if that sounds interesting to you, then watch the movie. It pretty much ruined my day and makes me wonder if my wife and children actually care about me. Jaws was much better. At least all I have to do to avoid getting eaten is stay out of the water. How do I avoid gender discrimination and bias?

I wasn't sure what to expect but ended up loving this film. Although this movie was somewhat a "chic flick", i was with a group of guys and they all enjoyed the film. Mike Bender did a great job as actor, director, and writer. The characters were well written and developed. I laughed and cried. Sometimes at the same time! Joan Allen and Kevin Coaster had wonderful chemistry. All four of the daughters worked well together. It was nice to see a script that didn't rely on going through the motions. It was unique and creative. Although the movie was a little long, time flew by and I enjoyed the ride. Welcome back Kevin Costner to a job well done! We have missed you!

SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE. I can't understand anyone loving this movie. I can't understand the high rating it received. Her husband is gone, and the wife assumed he left her without saying a word. What about his car, or his usual means to get to work? What about his office? What about him not packing a suitcase, or taking a thing? She should have called the police to report his disappearance, in case he was somewhere injured -- which he was! Even if he wanted to hurt his wife in the worse way, there was no indication that he wanted to hurt his daughters that way. I hope the wife threw up because she realized what an idiot she'd been to assume he'd left her. I hope she's haunted by the idea that he might not have died instantly, that if she had called the police, and if they had investigated, he might have been found sooner, perhaps even alive. Even if he hadn't lived, maybe he could have said goodbye to his daughters. If I were the DA, I'd charge that idiot wife with something!

The Upside of Anger epitomizes bad direction. The pacing was off, the music was distracting and the voice overs were needless and lazy. I am hoping that the movie is re-edited before it actually hits theaters. This movie is about a somewhat quirky mom and her four quirky daughters and her quirky neighbor. One of the reasons for poor pacing is that the movie tries to tell individual stories about each of the four children in addition to the main story, but it is only and hour and a half long. Almost all of the character choices made are heavy handed. Alicia Witt looks as though she was told to look sardonic at almost all times. Let's make Kevin Costner into something of a pig. But wait, let's make him into kind of a lovable pig. The movie seems to be very aware of itself as a movie. It seems like there are points put in as obvious foreshadowing, but not in a good way - they stick out like a sore thumb. Since the opening scene is at a funeral (not really a spoiler since it is the first scene, but since they will hopefully remove that first scene, it may turn into one), every time you see someone in a car or someone on a bike, the question became "Is this the person who dies?" When does it happen, when does it happen? And seriously, a girl named Popeye? Really?

Terry Wolfmeyer (Allen), wife and mother of 4 daughters, has to face the life after her husband suddenly disappears, apparently with his secretary, to Sweden. Left alone to raise her daughters, she quickly discovers the comfort of Gin & Tonic, in company of her next-door neighbour Danny (Costner), a once-great baseball star turn radio DJ. The drinking buddies slowly evolve into a relationship, becoming her source of strength in overcoming her husband's defection and concentrating on her daughters again. While the performance of Costner and Allen are pretty convincing, the story fails to deliver at many points and we are left wondering why we should care. Rich people with rich people's problems. Both Terry and Danny are way too financial secure to convincingly convey any empathy and the most interesting and likable characters, the daughters, don't have the opportunity to fully develop. Even the surprising twist-ending ultimately fails to deliver. In short it's an absolutely forgettable movie, a lost opportunity. The only highlight is Kevin Costner who has never been so good at being so ordinary.

"The Upside of Anger" showcases many good performances but make no mistake about it, this movie's clearly the Joan Allen Show. And what a show she puts on. About an hour into the film, Allen's Terry Wolfmeyer bursts into a room unannounced. Her reaction lasts just a few seconds, but they're priceless. Writer-director Mike Binder keeps the camera on Allen and what we get is a moment of sheer brilliance, one that should be shown to all acting students. Binder does something awfully bold in this film. He lets his story revolve around two seemingly unlikable people - Terry and her neighbor, Danny Davies (Kevin Costner). They're two self-destructive, terribly selfish, occasionally boorish people who wallow in their own pity. Terry's furious and hurt because her husband left her for his Swedish secretary, while Danny's a former Detroit Tiger who now spends signing baseball memorabilia and running a radio talk show where he refuses to talk baseball. They find solace in each other, not because they particularly like each other, but because they each need a drinking buddy. But thanks to two very fine performances, they're likable. Much to Binder's credit, he doesn't simply settle his story on Terry and Danny. Wisely, Binder lets his story take its time. We get to know Terry's children, too. There's Andy (Erika Christensen), who's dating an older lech Shep (Binder); Popeye (Evan Rachel Wood), the youngest and budding filmmaker; Emily (Keri Russell), who feels unloved; and rebellious Hadley (Alicia Witt). These young women have their own personalities and spending time with them makes the story richer. Costner is awfully comfortable playing Danny. In fact, Danny is Crash Davis, slightly older and a bit more cynical. Danny doesn't like clinging to his baseball past, but he knows that's all he's got. It's nice to see Costner in these roles. He plays them better than most and it's a loose, relaxed performance that never goes over the top. But the movie really is all about Allen. It's tough turning a self-destructive and pitiful alcoholic into someone we want to spend time with. But Allen simply sparkles in the role. She's smart, quick-witted and fraying at the edges, trying to keep her wits about her. We not only understand her roller-coaster emotions, but also find them believable. Performances like hers are truly rare and Allen does nothing wrong here. Had this film been released last year, Hilary Swank might very well not have walked away with her second Academy Award. Not only does Allen deserve a nomination for her remarkable performance in this film, she also probably deserves to win it. What surprising about Binder's story is that despite all its warmth and humor, there's still a very nice and unexpectedly dark edge to it all. It's refreshing to see a film where the characters and the situations aren't exactly all that rosy. And even moments that could have easily been played for their melodrama are brilliantly underplayed and toned down. They work much better this way, than having characters resort to histrionics. The film's voice-over narration, on the other hand, gets a bit preachy. And a revelation at the end is a bit questionable. Astute viewers would figure it out because that's really the only rational way to deal with it. Binder sort of lets us in on it very early on in the film. We never get to see the title's real meaning in this film. That, presumably, comes after the end credits and all these characters get on with their lives. Nevertheless, "The Upside of Anger" is a good film studded with a great performance by one of today's finest actresses.

After her performance in "The Ice Storm" it is no surprise that Joan Allen could carry a movie like "The Upside of Anger". Nor was it a surprise that she and Alicia Witt could beautifully play off each other in their confrontational mother and daughter roles. What did surprise was that the film featured equally strong performances from the other members of the cast. Even writer/director Mike Binder does a fine "on-screen" job as a slimy but not entirely unsympathetic radio producer. Kevin Costner would be wise to stay with this type of role (and with comedy) instead of big-budget epic stuff. The casting of Witt with Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, and Keri Russell as the four sisters was inspired. It was refreshing just to see a film family that looked enough alike physically to actually be related to each other. Since Christensen looks so much like Julia Stiles they could have even added a fifth sister although their resemblance is so strong that it might be confusing. All the subtle birth order distinctions felt right. The oldest (Witt) was the most connected to mom even though it did not appear so on the surface. The second (Christensen-who absolutely glows on the screen) was determined to be different than her older sister. The third (Russell) was the most connected to the father, missed him the most, and had the least understanding of the mother. The youngest (Wood) was way ahead of the curve and the most perceptive character in the film. Watch for all this stuff because it is there, and watch how no matter how down the mother becomes she continues to monitor the welfare of her daughters. Binder gave into the temptation to use cheesy special effect gimmicks several times (the explosion at the dinner table, the neighborhood transition from summer to winter, the ballet fantasy, and the daughters growing older during the funeral scene). Although done well they seemed out of place. Also Binder should review the Kent State shootings, there were four students killed-not six. There is a spectacular shot at the wedding. Beginning as an over the shoulder shot of Hadley (Witt) sucking in her "plump" cheeks, the camera pans slightly right and moves toward the wedding party as the focus changes to bring them out of a blur. The film's ironic twist in the last 15 minutes is borrowed wholesale from "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice". I particularly liked Wood's beautiful narration which helped clarify the title and theme, necessary (or at least helpful) after this ironic story line twist. She managed to sound both detached and involved, it is actually the voice-over for her broadcasting class project. When we are suddenly forced to reevaluate everything that has gone before in what we thought was just an interesting comedy, Wood steps in and steers us to internalize the theme. They go out on a shot of Wood looking up from her Mac and smiling. Amazing. This is the best of Binder's writing: "Anger and resentment can stop you in your tracks. That's what I know now. It needs nothing to burn but the air and the life that it swallows and smothers. It's real though, the fury, even when it isn't. It can change you, turn you, mold you and shape you into something you're not. The only upside of anger then, is the person you become, hopefully someone that wakes up one day and realizes they're not afraid of its journey. Someone that knows that the truth is, at best, a partially told story. That anger, like growth, comes in spurts and fits and in its wake leaves a new chance of acceptance and the promise of calm". "The Upside of Anger" is one of those rare films that I believe everyone should make an effort to connect with, doing so will make you a better person. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I saw this when it premiered at the Sundance film festival (although the director & actors didn't bother to come to our screening), and I enjoyed it. Kevin Costner plays a baseball player, but the movie is not about baseball; it deals with the anger the lead character feels when her husband disappears, along with his secretary. Joan Allen plays the wife of the missing man, and is the mother to four daughters, played very well by Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russel, Erika Christensen, and Alicia Witt. Joan Allen was marvelous. We laughed many times when she glared in anger at different characters in the movie (and we were glad she wasn't mad at US! LOL...) I have not been a big fan of Kevin Costner in recent years, but thought that he did a great job as the man who helps Joan Allen's character pick up the pieces. The writer/director also has a role in the film as an older man who dates Joan Allen's daughter. I thought the message of the film was delivered well, and it was an entertaining story. There is a twist at the end that I truly did not see coming. I don't think it spoiled the movie, it was just unexpected.