Since I'm not reviewing....

Silver Linings Playbook for the website that I do film reviews for (another critic is reviewing it), I'll do my review here.

Silver Linings Playbook stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jackie Weaver,  Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles and Dash Mihok.  It was directed by David O. Russell who also wrote the screenplay adaptation of the novel by Matthew Quick.

This is the story of "Pat" (Cooper) who is in a mental institution in Maryland when the film opens.  He's been there eight months due to a plea bargain in a court case.  His mother (Weaver), acting against the advice of the doctors signs him out to take him home to Philadelphia, with the court requiring he continue in therapy and to take his medications.  He's also under a restraining order to stay away from his wife and his former employer (he was a schoolteacher).

The whys of his institutionalization become clear in flashback as we learn that his wife Nikki (also a teacher) was carrying on with a tenured teacher.  Pat lost control and beat the daylights out of this other teacher when he found him with his wife.  Now he's lost everything and he is moved back into his old bedroom in the home of his parents.  His father, "Pat Senior" has lost his job but it's alright because he's earning good money as a bookmaker and is planning to open his own cheesesteak restaurant. 

Pat's friend "Ronnie" (Ortiz) tells him that his wife "Veronica" (Stiles) wants him to come to dinner.  What Pat doesn't know is that they've also invited Veronica's sister "Tiffany" (Lawrence) as well.  There is an awkward first meeting between the two and soon Tiffany has had enough of her sister, her brother-in-law and Pat's unfiltered commentary.

This film is about the relationship that builds up between Tiffany and Pat, and it's a rocky, problematic road from the beginning.  She needs a partner for a dance competition being held in December and he wants Tiffany to deliver a letter to Nikki for him, in violation of the restraining order.  They strike a bargain where he will be her partner in return for delivering the letter.

Pat is in therapy with "Dr. Patel" (Kher) who insists that he take his meds and that he develop a strategy for dealing with the feelings that build up within him.  For Pat had been unaware his entire life that he suffers from bi-polar disorder, a condition that wasn't diagnosed until he went into the institution.  He hates how the medications make him feel, but agrees to start taking them after a few 'incidents'.  He also learns that "Officer Keogh" (Mishok) has been assigned to keep an eye on him.

Meanwhile, Pat is also his father's good luck charm concerning Eagles football which he is obsessed with.  He becomes unhappy when Pat won't sit and watch the games with him.  Then his father places and loses a bet involving all the money he'd set aside to get the restaurant on a game he sent Pat and Pat's brother to watch.  There was an incident at the game and they were unable to see the game because of it.

Now Pat Sr. has a new bet, that the Eagles will win the last game of the season and that Pat and Tiffany will receive an average score of five or better in the dance competition.  On this, everything rides.

The acting here is exceptional, probably the best thing Lawrence has ever done, while Cooper is clearly able to carry a film on his shoulders.  DeNiro is almost always brilliant and Chris Tucker makes a welcome return to the big screen after an extended absence.  Russell directs well and gets just the right balance of humor and drama to thoroughly enchant the audience.

The sole criticism that the film earns is that it may not be the most accurate or best portrayal of both sides of the equation of bi-polar disorder.  The mania and accompanying issues are clearly present, but the bottoms, the lows, the depression is not on display.  It is worth noting that not every person who suffers from bi-polar disorder experiences severe depression, but it is the norm.  I would have liked to see at least some of this to give Pat real highs and lows as he struggles with his illness.  But this is a very minor criticism and in no way detracts from the film's excellence.

A must-see.