The Upside of Anger (DVD, 2005)

This is such a well written and beautifully acted movie. Mike Binder who wrote and directed, is best known for the dreadful "Mind of the Married Man." In this one he pulls off a bases loaded home run.

He wrote the lead role of Terry Wolfmeyer for Joan Allen and it shows. She puts the character on and it fits like a glove. We learn that Terry's husband and father of her four girls, has up and left her, possibly with his Swedish secretary. Her youngest daughter, Popeye (I'm hoping it's a nickname, it was never explained), tells us that Terry was the sweetest person imaginable until this happened, and then she got angry, good and angry.

And that's how the story begins, Terry reeling in shock and anger. She is drinking too much and barely functional. Neighbor Denny (Kevin Costner) comes over to discuss a business deal with her husband and discovers he's gone for good. He invites himself in and they become drinking buddies.

Kevin Costner seems to be a natural to play atheletes. Here he is a retired baseball player who makes a living doing promotions and signing baseballs (he charges for them). He is also the host of a local radio show which in a fit of contradictoriness he refuses to discuss baseball. And he drinks, a lot. Costner can pull off loopy, casual charm like no one else and his portrayal of Denny is both complex and lovable.

Terry is very angry and Joan Allen does it to perfection. She can fix the object of her ire with a look of stony fury that is hilarious and scary. Her reaction when she finds one of her daughters in a relationship with a man she despises is priceless. She drifts into a relationship with Denny that leaves him often on the pointy end of her emotional ups and downs. He's pretty understanding, but it also has it's limits. Terry is just so mad she can't seem to find a way around it.

She also damages the relationship with her girls. They are hurting from their father's defection and dealing with this touchy, sarcastic, unpredictable new mother is hard. They try to understand, but feel torn and a little guilty because they aren't as angry at him as she is.

It could have been a movie that strictly deals with Terry's arc in this situation, but it isn't. While the initial story is good on its own, it turns around and takes on another level. It has a wonderful conclusion that makes it richer, deeper, and much more meaningful. You look more carefully at the sources of your own anger and realize what a waste it is.

What isn't a waste is getting this DVD. You'll watch it more than once and talk to your friends and family about it.

This movie I only got because it was previously viewed and marked down to $1.49 the first day FYE was open and for that price, a lot of movies had me curious. Hence why some appear here.

This movie stars Kevin Costner and Joan Allen. Kevin Costner is an ex-baseball player (SURPRISE!!) and Joan Allen is a mother of four daughters (Erika Christensen, Keri Russell, Alicia Witt, and Evan Rachel Wood) and is very pissed off because her husband ran away with a secretary or something to Sweden. She spends the whole movie being mad and the majority of it drinking and barely listens to her daughters dreams and wishes. She gets involved with Costner first as a drinking buddy and then a relationship. His only glory moments are firing his sleazeball producing buddy and getting mad at Joan Allen and kicking a door down. Otherwise this is a big movie of her being mad and no one getting her and her not getting anyone. The four daughters are not noteworthy either. They bitch and moan and turn on her when their dad is the one they should be frustrated with. The whole thing is just very bland. The plotlines aren't enough to keep you interested. I watched the whole thing and the only part I really liked was completely unprompted with no premise in the film. She was staring at the sleazeball guy slurping his soup and suddenly his head explodes and the blood gets all over everyone and she smiles and everyone keeps eating. Of course turns out to be a daydream, but since there are no others in the entire movie, just feels weird to jump out to the feel of the film for a moment to have a laugh. It WAS funny but didn't belong in the movie either. If you like mushy movies about women and their feelings and/or are a mother or daughter, you might like this film. It wasn't enough for my taste. It gets a C-. It tried, but really didn't do anything for me.

a Wonderful cast attacks a serious subject about Human nature and the different emotions we use to cope with life and gives us a story with a perfect balance of humore and drama.It is a look into anger and repression and might seem a bit tame to people who are used to typical screen anger with a bite but every story has it's audience and less is very often more. Kevin Costner's portrayal of a retired Major League Baseball player who struggles to understand the consequences of fleeting fame on all facets of his life is filled with intnsity and passion. Does playing such a role begin with an actors look into their own relationship with celebrity? whatever the answer he gives a performance that I really was impressed with. Mike Binder wrote and directed a wonderful film about middle class emotions and got the best players to make his point. A poetic summing up of the nature of anger brings a wonderful "it's only a movie" happy ending to the film and allows viewers to perhaps associate so many moments of the film to their own life. You know...It seems like Mile Binder sleeps easier than Woody Allen.
I hope you take the time to see this film and enjoy it as much as I did.

I must admit, I first watched the movie because Kevin Costner starred in it. I'm a big fan, I love his acting style and he's extremely easy on the eyes ;) This movie definitely didn't disappoint! Joan Allen was a perfect fit for the character she played. The movie had elements of dry humor, and that's exactly my cup of tea. Even though seemingly both of the main actors were cast in roles that they had both done before (Kevin Costner being a former sports star, and Joan Allen a housewife), the movie took unexpected twists and turns every time you'd think that it was getting predictable. Overall, I rate it two thumbs up! Enjoy!

I like the acting and the writing and the directing from Mike Binder. Joan Allen and Kevin Costner are good together. The girls, Erika, Evan, Keri and Alicia are good too. All of them are good is this movie.