g-bodyl The Upside of Anger is a much better film than I have anticipated. I thought this would be some bad romantic comedy, but it's not really a romantic comedy. It's a family drama that is centered around family life with a little bit of romance on the side. This film has support of a very unexpected twist ending, an emotional/heartfelt story, and incredibly strong acting. I was surprised on how emotional I felt after the end of the movie, because the film will really get to you.Mike Binder's film is about a family of one strong-willed woman and her four daughters. After a terrible accident in the family, Terry starts a new thing with her neighbor, ex-baseball player Denny Davies while facing the teenage/college hormones of her daughters.The acting is very, very good. Surprisingly, Joan Allen gives one of her best performances ever with her role as Terry. You can relate to her even though sometimes you just want to hate her. Kevin Costner also gives a solid performance even though it's second to Joan Allen's performance. The daughters played by Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, and Alicia Witt also give solid performances.Overall, this is a great film that is an acting showcase. This is a good film that is about the ways of family and how they all bond together despite differences. Even thought there are some strong, emotional moments, there are also some sweet, light-hearted moments as well. I rate this film 9/10.

S.R. Dipaling Terry Ann Wolfemeyer(Joan Allen)is feeling life cave in around her. Her daughters are seemingly growing up too fast,her drinking is coming WAY too easily and she's just found out that her husband's been cheating on her with his Swedish secretary/assistant. As if this isn't bad enough,said hubby disappears,apparently running off with said mistress.IN her desire to not drink alone,she makes the company of an equally boozy former major league pitcher named Denny DAvies(Kevin Costner,in what feels like his eighteenth movie where he's a baseball player).Together,they stumble along to something approximating a relationship in their own clumsy,inebriated way,and also come to an understanding that in their loneliness and drinking,their apparent lack of having much else in common might be more superficial than they either expected.Great performances by Costner(who's a real RE-discovery here),Allen and--as Allen's sharp and increasingly opinionated daughters--Evan Rachel Wood,Keri Russell,Alicia Witt and Erika Christensen buoy this movie directed by and co-written by one-time stand-up comic Mike Binder(who also co-stars as Denny's radio producer and erstwhile friend). This sis certainly a good cheap rent if not a top-dollar ticket viewing experience. Give it a try and see if you don't agree.

iso-kincses 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...)

Robert W. I am a huge Kevin Costner fan and I waited a long to see The Upside of Anger because I figured it to be an 'okay' movie...average at best and as with all great surprises this one floored me because The Upside of Anger is absolutely brilliant and now goes onto my favorites list for all time. There is something subtle about the way the film plays out, and also so real and demanding and high emotions from beginning to end from each member of this seemingly dysfunctional family that always manages to pull together. The twist at the end is the exact definition of a twist. There was absolutely no way you saw anything like this coming, and the last few moments of the film completely change everything that came before it. You become so intertwined with this woman's bitter anger, and emotions that discovering that twist makes you feel exactly the way she would have felt and it's devastating and relieving all at once...it's the "Upside of Anger." I completely believe that there were some severely overlooked performances for Golden Globes, Academy Awards and so forth in this film and one of them hands down is Joan Allen who turns a downright incredible performance as Terry Ann Wolfmeyer, the mother of four beautiful girls who finds herself abandoned by her husband following a mid life crisis of sorts. Terry quickly becomes the ideal functional alcoholic, always a drink in her hand but also still up and interacting and hovering protectively over her children. Unfortunately her spite and anger come across as bitter and sharp comments that leave her family feeling her bite. Allen is drop dead amazing in this role!! Kevin Costner is almost as impressive as radio talk show host and equally functioning alcoholic Denny Davies. Davies has a washed up baseball career, sells autographed balls on the internet, lives in squaller and drinks like a fish and somehow Davies and Terry find a common bond in their misery. Costner is upbeat and depressing all at once. He is also truly one of the good guys because he genuinely loves and cares for Allen's character and stands with her through everything in hopes to find love back. He's the most upstanding sleaze ball I've ever seen. He has morals and loves his new family. The four daughters are such an integral part of this film because each one develop a different way that their mother's anger effects them. Erika Christensen, Keri Russell, Alicia Witt, and Evan Rachel Wood are so good both together with the cast and in their own right. Christensen develops a more outgoing and determined personality desperate to make something of herself and be a strong woman. Russell's character has her dreams severely dampened by her mother's harsh words and non-supportive comments. Alicia Witt hides her new found love from her mother so as to not have it ruined and quickly marries and has children to escape her. And the young Evan Rachel Wood tries to adjust to teenage life with a gay friend that she likes and her older sisters changing personalities. They all do an amazing job!! Terrific director Mike Binder also plays a supporting role as radio Producer 'Shep' who has a taste for young women including the young Andy Wolfmeyer played by Christensen. Binder is great as the sleazy and yet down to earth Shep who really just makes his moves for himself and you don't really want to hold that against him. A particularly powerful scene involves an intense argument between Shep and Allen's character.The Upside of Anger might be one of the most powerful drama's I have seen in a very long time and given me a great deal of respect for Joan Allen and Mike Binder. The film doesn't blow you away right away but has this subtle intelligence and such deep emotion that draws you in and makes you such a huge part of each character's lives and then leaves you breathless. This is an absolute must see film. It's drama, romance, mystery, and just emotion boiling over. This film is extremely under rated and few really appreciate it for what it is and I am proud to say that I appreciate it as one of my favorite films of all time!! 10/10