The Upside of Anger (2005)

When her husband unexpectedly disappears, a sharp-witted suburban wife and her daughters juggle their mom's romantic dilemmas and family dynamics.

Director:

Mike Binder

Writer:

Mike Binder

Stars:

Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen

4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Allen	...	Terry Ann Wolfmeyer
Kevin Costner	...	Denny Davies
Erika Christensen	...	Andy Wolfmeyer
Keri Russell	...	Emily Wolfmeyer
Alicia Witt	...	Hadley Wolfmeyer
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Lavender 'Popeye' Wolfmeyer
Mike Binder	...	Adam 'Shep' Goodman
Tom Harper	...	David Junior
Dane Christensen	...	Gorden Reiner
Danny Webb	...	Grey Wolfmeyer
Magdalena Manville	...	Darlene
Suzanne Bertish	...	Gina
David Firth	...	David Senior
Rod Woodruff	...	Dean Reiner (as Roderick P. Woodruff)
Stephen Greif	...	Emily's Doctor

Storyline

A sharp-witted suburban wife, Terry Wolfmeyer, is left to raise her four headstrong daughters when her husband unexpectedly disappears. Things get even more hectic when she falls for her neighbor Denny, a once-great baseball star turned radio d.j. This leaves her daughters out on a limb. They are forced to juggle their mom's romantic dilemmas as well as their own.

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Plot Keywords:

drinking | baseball | radio | anger | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes what tears us apart helps us put it back together

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual situations, brief comic violence and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Media 8 Entertainment Metropolitan Filmexport [fr]

Country:

USA Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Outra Face da Raiva

Filming Locations:

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,179 (Hong Kong) (3 June 2005)

Gross:

$18,761,993 (USA) (24 June 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Media 8 Entertainment, VIP 2 Medienfonds

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The poster shown when Terry is cleaning Denny's house is a picture of Kevin Costner as Detroit Tiger Billy Chapel from For Love of the Game.

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Goofs

When they toast Hadley, the fruit wedge on the glass of Terry's bloody Mary changes from a lime to a lemon between shots

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Quotes

Adam "Shep" Goodman: Who should I sleep with, Terry? Women like you? Your age? My age? I don't. You know why? 'Cause younger women are *nice*. You take them out, and they're actually grateful. "Oh look, a steak. Yummy." You go for a walk after dinner, the air smells nice, they say, "Thank you. This was *nice*. This was *fun*. You're *funny*. Tee-hee-hee." What should I do, Terry? Settle down and marry some pissed-off thing like you? I'd rather have someone come over and do *dental* work, *every day*, from my ...

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Connections

References Bicycle Thieves (1948)

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Soundtracks

"Canon"
Written by Johan Pachelbel
Performed by Kevin Sargent
Courtesy of Upside of Anger Limited

User Reviews

Sundance review...

THE UPSIDE OF ANGER

"Classic melodrama" was the old-fashioned term used to characterize family dramas where women struggled with their situation or gave voice to once- repressed desires. More often than not, these films focused on the bourgeoisie, where stifling urges and desires for fulfillment is endemic. Galvanized by a great and witty script, and powered by truly remarkable performances by Joan Allen and Kevin Costner, Upside of Anger is a welcome and inspired revision of the classic genre. Writer/director Mike Binder deserves all the kudos he will likely receive for this superbly rendered comedic drama, which is at once traditional and iconoclastic and as absorbing and entertaining as it is appealingly human.

The story is set in motion when the alcoholic matriarch of the well-to-do midwestern Wolfmeyer family discovers her husband has disappeared and left her to raise four headstrong daughters (all in various stages of young adulthood) on her own, without any clear means of support. Her drunken rants fuel her already combative parenting style, and the situation really erupts when a middle-aged neighbor makes a play for her attention. The stellar cast, including Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, and Alicia Witt, makes this portrayal of a family's emotional transformation one of the most pleasurable and surprisingly unpredictable romantic dramas you'll see this year.— Geoffrey Gilmore

Producers : Alex Gartner, Jack Binder, Sammy Lee Cinematographer : Richard Greatrex Production Designer : Chris Roope Costume Designer : Deborah Scott Cast : Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, Alicia Witt, Mike Binder