The Upside of Anger (2005)

What a waste of my time!!!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Continuing my plan to watch ever Kevin Costner movie in order I come to The Upside Of Anger from 2005Plot In A Paragraph: Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) a suburban wife, is left to raise her four headstrong daughters when her husband unexpectedly leaves (presumably to Sweden with his secretary) without a trace. Things get even more hectic when she falls for her neighbour Denny (a scene stealing KC) a once-great baseball star turned radio d.j. This leaves her daughters out on a limb. The Upside Of Anger is a funny film for me. It's filled with brilliant performances, is well written, and well directed. But for some reason I never watch it. This is one of my least viewed KC movies, despite it featuring a great performance from him. All the cast are brilliant, Joan Allen always is, Erika Christensen (i expected to see more of her, but I never have) Kerr Russell, Alicia Witt and Evan Rachel Wood all play the daughters really well.But as the lonely alcoholic drinking buddies Terry and Denny Allen and KC own this movie, I think in the hands of two lesser actors this wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well. KC simply steals every scene he is in and I believe he deserved on Oscar nomination. In fact Joan Allen should have been nominated too. I remember a lot of reviews focused on how great KC was in it, and suggested this would be a contender around Oscar time, and when KC and Joan Allen were both nominated for Critics Choice awards, I thought it might have a chance, but it didn't earn a single nomination, and it didn't actually turn up in the UK until 2007. By which point I had already seen his next two movies and was awaiting Mr Brooks. When it was released over here unexpectedly with no promotion. If I didn't see a critics review in The Sun newspaper, I never would have known it was released. For a movie of this quality I think that's a disgrace.

The Upside of Anger (2005): Dir: Mike Binder / Cast: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Keri Russell, Alicia Witt: Excellent film about bitterness and the road to healing. Joan Allen plays the mother of four daughters who is bitter after her husband takes off with his secretary. Kevin Costner plays a radio DJ and former baseball star who lives nearby. Detailed screenplay on relationships while staying focused on central issues. One daughter is into gymnastics; another is engaged to be married; another discovers that her potential boyfriend is gay; and another lands a job on Costner's radio station where she becomes involved with a womanizer. Well directed by Mike Binder who also has a speaking part in the film. Joan Allen embodies her role with sarcasm mixed with alcohol with a great scene where she is to meet the parents of her daughter's fiancée. Costner is employing equal chemistry in one of his best performances. He seeks out a relationship with Allen in those hard core drinking evenings. Twist ending has Costner discover the real reasons for Allen's husband's absence. The daughters are well drawn but also add to the film's predictable subplots. They are played by Erika Christensen, Keri Russell, Evan Rachel Wood, and Alicia Witt and they are stunning. Bitter resentment is ugly but the message regards the calm after the storm. Score: 9 / 10

The trailer sucks and does not do justice to the actual movie which is a wonderful experience.Joan Allen is the most natural actor I think I've ever known, although the rest of this movies' cast did a great job too. This leads me to how delightfully and perfectly genuine this movie's story turned out to feel like not only through the entire presentation but the actors contributed tons to that aspect. I mean, it didn't even feel like I was watching a movie with actors playing roles, but more like watching real life happening in the neighbourhood or something. A part of this is in the general atmosphere which is very calm all through the movie but never gets boring, not ever but more like draws you in. Yet this doesn't lack interesting drama - it just doesn't come off as movie-ish as usually in movies.Even so, I daresay even those who are more into action and adventure, may very well enjoy this. At least me and my brother who are fans of stuff like The Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes and other such, we truly enjoyed this movie.There a very graphic gory moment which is one of the humorous moments of the over-all pleasantly genuine humour in this movie. I bet gore is something you'd never expect to see in a movie of this genre, but they totally made it fit in. It suits the situation in which it happens by the how and why it happens. Even if yo're sensitive to gore, I daresay that scene will not bother you but rather amuse. I daresay this because even my other brother who is extremely sensitive to any violence in movies, was not bothered and found it funny regardless of how graphic it was. But of course we're all individuals, so be warned; there is a really gory moment that is likely to rather amuse but might disturb as well.Now, personally they lost me at some point with the whole anger-philosophy one of the characters speaks in voice-overs. The beginning was easy to follow and understand but along the way and at the end I it got more complicated...but it hardly matters because the story itself already got its point through when it comes to anger. Especially through the ending twist which you kind of saw coming but not really. I bet no one could guess the rather shocking revelation of the full picture. Here I must warn, that the final truth of the story is somewhat depressing, maybe even slightly disturbing for the most sensitive of people. But again, that twist adds to the genuine-life feel and power of this movie, and makes this the memorable and important piece that this is.I warmly recommend this to anyone, no matter what your preferred movie genre is. You're going to miss a lot if you don't watch this movie.

To begin with: fair play to Mike Binder. Trick with release dates: I saw two movies from him in the last two weeks, and I would go for a third in two weeks' time. Well written, well directed, well cast. I hope he'll stay on this track.No need to say anything about the story. Liked 'American Beauty'? Liked 'The Ice Storm'? Liked 'The Squid and the Whale'? Trust me, you're gonna like this too.Joan Allen haven't been so good since The Ice Storm. Well, she's never ever been so good! Although I have at least three American actresses in her two-years-of-age-radius, who I like more (Griffith, Hunter and Bening), but Griffith's voice would have been too sweet for the role, and the other two just had enough of the kind so far to put their fingers into something else.And the role of the shabby, beer-guzzling but big-hearted ex baseball pro is something descending stars would kill for. Now, again and more so: there are way many more actors around 50, who could have played this hands down. (Suspect Jeff Bridges could have played it without even reading the script;-) Still, you can't complain about Kevin Costner. What's more, you might start hoping his agent will dig up some more of the sort for him, and he will grow on you.The rest is all right, though E.R. Wood has to take a bigger step now, because I felt a bit like she made this and 'Running with Scissors' in a way of kill-two-birds-with-one-stone, without even changing her hat. But it's all right when she's just so cute, isn't it? I think when she comes of age, she'll surprise us with some more solid stuff, and won't disappear like Thora Birch or Dominique Swain.Turning back to Binder for one comparison: this movie was better than 'Reign Over Me'. The difference is in the way you can empathize with characters or not. Maybe I'm just a drinker myself, and it's speaks for it's due, but I like sarcastic and bitter people clinging on a bottle of vodka but knowing perfectly well their boundaries THAN people who can be charming in their strange ways but once they get knocked off balance and drink the best part of a bottle, they get so p**sed they feel the urge to take a stroll with a loaded gun...(I think Binder would cut that part out now, after Virginia Tech...)