It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

******************* SPOILERS *******************This is basically American Beauty 2.0. The gay dude, the unnecessary violence (except in this case it is real), the girl hooking with the older man....This is basically intended for mom's in their 50s who have very little taste for movies. This is story is not worthy of an adaptation, and even more disturbing is what are Allen and Costner doing in this picture.So Costner plays a mediocre plagiarism version of loser Crash Davis, same coat, same baseball player, same attitude in the beginning. Not exactly a well thought out script.Then, this story talks about nothing: it goes back into a flashback, with very little information on what is supposed to be the plot, but it turns out it talks about nothing, only a few sequences of sub plots that have no relation, it's very disorganized, way too tacky and cliché.I'm very disappointed in the outcome: so in the end, did he cheated ? Or did he just got trapped in the well ? What happened all that time ? And we don't even get an explanation, just that, that's where the father ex-husband was for x amount of time. I don't get it, it was the whole point of the movie, cheater abandons his family and there goes the drama: instead, it denies it. It's bland, skimpy, no intrigue, no character worth cheering for.

*** out of **** starsI must admit, that when I first saw the trailer for The Upside of Anger, it came across to me as perhaps boring, perhaps shallow, perhaps cliché. It's nothing of the sort. What we have here is a melding of flavors; something of a Woody Allen/Coen brothers hybrid coasting along the seasons of Michigan. Humor is not without despondency. Dialouge is not without wit. The silent contemplation of the characters is not without the disturbing yet comforting contemplation by us as viewers. It's always a surprising pleasure, no matter how much I experience it, to witness silent acting that reads between the lines, and tells a story without superfluous jargon. You gotta know when to talk, but you gotta know when to shut up too.Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) is a mother of four high school and college age daughters, and her husband has surprisingly run off with his secretary to a land far, far away. As we learn more about Terry, we can see why. She's continuously boozy yet functioning, sadly and hysterically cynical, systematically bitter, unknowingly shallow and insultingly forward. Her daughters are all headstrong and smart, trying to find their way in the world. Terry has her own idea of how they should live their lives and plan their futures, not recognizing their inherent talents and strengths, or not choosing to. Denny (Kevin Costner), a friend of the disappeared hubby, shows up on Terry's lawn with a beer in his hand, wanting a drinking buddy. We instantaneously sense a relationship will ensue, but it doesn't happen without the difficulty and maturity that can only take place between two adults in their 40's or 50's who have been through the ringer a time or two. All the daughters approve of him, which is probably why Terry is so slow to come around to his quirky advances. Denny is an ex-Detroit Tiger hero who hates talking about his once beloved sport as a radio DJ. Will Costner ever shake that America's favorite pastime vibe? He doesn't need to here. It works out just fine. Yet what has made him so reluctant and irritated about chatting up RBIs and home-runs is an underdeveloped part of the narrative. The film really belongs to Allen.What gives Upside so much light and life are the daughters, played by Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell and Alicia Witt. All of them obviously and equally understood what screenwriter and director Mike Binder intended for them to bring to the screen, which puts much light on him for either not allowing himself to compromise his vision, or for selecting the correct choices of talent, or both. Binder also co-stars as an unashamed, disgusting Lothario, and a producer at Denny's radio station.I believe The Upside of Anger will appeal to all ages (kids aside of course) and all breeds of movie watchers. Ladies may enjoy it as a "chick flick". Indie enthusiasts may like it's originality and dark charm. Middle aged men may identify with Denny's apathy for a sport he once loved and the attraction he has for Terry's melodramatic family. In short, I think this movie can interest and entertain everyone. And what a complement that is! If I do say so myself.

This is a deeply disappointing film from Mike Binder, considering how brilliant his 'Reign over Me' would be two years later. The best thing about the film is Kevin Costner, who is warm, fills the screen, and is totally watchable throughout, pro that he is. Joan Allen, who in other films, such as more recently, 'The Bourne Ultimatum', is a powerful actress of impressive appearance, should never have made this film, because at the time she seems to have been in a state of extreme anorexia or bulimia. Her body in this is so vanishingly thin that her head looks like a transplant of a pumpkin on a narrow corn stalk. In one scene, her neck ligaments are so pronounced that one fears she may use them to strangle the sound man. She should have gone into rehab rather than film this, but it seems that she did afterwards, as she seemed OK in the latest 'Bourne'. In the film, she has four daughters, all of whom look disconcertingly as if they are the same age. None of them can speak clearly, and they mumble and swallow their dialogue as if it were a secret they were loathe to reveal to us. They all suffer from what I call 'Dakota Fanning Syndrome', which is the tendency to talk like spoilt, musing babies, making only 20% of the words comprehensible. It seems that kids can't speak anymore. I guess their vocal chords are shrivelling up while they strengthen their thumbs with text messaging. Mike Binder is very good at playing the character 'Shep', and it is a pity the best he did this time around was as an actor, as his script is really deeply flawed. Without revealing what happens at the end of the film, I cannot adequately explain how totally, utterly implausible the whole story really is, to a degree which I find deeply shocking. Are we really meant to believe this tale? The profundity of the film is, alas, only mock-profundity. Binder's attempts to explore deep things are only successful with Costner's character, but fail otherwise. The people in the film are uniformly nauseating, spoilt brat, narcissistic, self-pitying creeps. The worst of all is the monster mother, played by Joan Allen. If her intention was to make us hate her, she certainly succeeded. There is actually no one in the film with whom I had an ounce of sympathy except the daughter played by Keri Russell, who wants to be a dancer. Good for her. She is the only character in the film worth a moment's time or attention. The way in which girls as young as 15 talk in this film constantly about screwing is deeply disturbing. It may be true to life, but then that truth about life is equally disturbing. Apart from the dancing daughter, there is no one in this film with any aim or purpose, and they are all so spoilt rotten that they are sickening. Come on Binder, what is this all about? Did you really think you could squeeze some juice out of these dry and sour lemons? After watching a whole film of Joan Allen being a monster, it was hari-kari time.

Reading the commercial reviews for this film only confirms my belief that no reviewers can be trusted and that most of the reviews are probably bought and paid for by the production companies.This is a film about a woman supposedly entirely changed by her rage when she is left by her husband. But through the entire film, the change is reflected in two ways only: by Joan Allen's cold, robotic expression for 90% of the film, and by her rude treatment of the daughters she supposedly loves. It was to me entirely unbelievable that Kevin Costner's character, who is typically Costner-warm and accessible, would be attracted to such a creature. It certainly wouldn't be because of her personality, and it's hard to imagine it could be because of her emaciated body. The film's billing as a "dark comedy" is just as strange. I found not a single scene worthy of a smile, much less laughter - unless Allen's reflexive cruelty to (1) her daughters; (2) Costner; (3) her daughter's doctor; (4) one daughter's love interest, or bedding interest, etc., etc., is what passes for humor in American film these days.That's what annoyed me the most. Film has such enormous potential: to enlighten, inspire, bring a little joy or laughter, provoke thought. When a film does none of these, and still gets glowing reviews from the mainstream press, it's just flat-out depressing.Not only Allen's character is flat: the film's story flatlines until the last 5 minutes. One daughter is hospitalized, supposedly seriously ill. We see her in the hospital bed once, then she's out, radiant. What was her illness? did Mom ever talk to her about it except for 5 seconds in the hospital room? No way. Mom is so distraught over daughter's illness she actually reveals humanity and cries. But does she respect her daughter's heartfelt wish that Dad be notified of her illness? No way. Such behavior is either errant nonsense or indicative of characters so devoid of human warmth and responsibility as to be completely unsympathetic to any slightly discerning audience.Alas, American audiences are so famished for movies with real meat and heart and brain, this drivel is praised as funny and smart. Pathetic.