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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Mike Binder (written by)
Release Date:
1 April 2005 (USA) more
Tagline:
Sometimes what tears us apart helps us put it back together more
Plot:
When her husband unexpectedly disappears, a sharp-witted suburban wife and her daughters juggle their mom's romantic dilemmas and family dynamics. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
5 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 6-12:
(From Filmicafe. 2 September 2009, 2:29 PM, PDT)
Costner in Film Company Court Battle
(From WENN. 1 December 2005)
User Comments:
The Joan Allen Show - highly recommended! more (212 total)
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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
An deiner Schulter (Germany)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for language, sexual situations, brief comic violence and some drug use.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
USA:118 min
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Sweden:7 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | France:U | Belgium:KT | Argentina:13 | Ireland:15A | Iceland:12 | UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | USA:R | Germany:12 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Kevin Costner gained 20 pounds for his role. more
Goofs:
Errors in geography: When the family limo at the beginning and end of the movie is returning from the funeral, the opposing car is seen driving away from the camera on the right side of the road instead of on the left side, which would have never happened in Michigan. more
Quotes:
Hadley Wolfmeyer:
There's something you all should know.
Lavender "Popeye" Wolfmeyer:
You're pregnant and you're getting married.
Hadley Wolfmeyer:
How did you know that? Who told you that?
Lavender "Popeye" Wolfmeyer:
I guessed? Really? I guessed that? I was right?
Terry Wolfmeyer:
No, you've got to be kidding me.
Hadley Wolfmeyer:
No, I'm... I'm not. I'm getting married.
Terry Wolfmeyer:
This is how I find out? Through Popeye? A 15-year-old?
Lavender "Popeye" Wolfmeyer:
Don't be condescending...
Terry Wolfmeyer:
Close it! You are a child. What do *you* know?
Andy Wolfmeyer:
Oh, that old chestnut.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
References Ladri di biciclette (1948) more
Soundtrack:
Star Struck more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (212 total)
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"The Upside of Anger" showcases many good performances but make no mistake about it, this movie's clearly the Joan Allen Show. And what a show she puts on.
About an hour into the film, Allen's Terry Wolfmeyer bursts into a room unannounced. Her reaction lasts just a few seconds, but they're priceless. Writer-director Mike Binder keeps the camera on Allen and what we get is a moment of sheer brilliance, one that should be shown to all acting students.
Binder does something awfully bold in this film. He lets his story revolve around two seemingly unlikable people - Terry and her neighbor, Danny Davies (Kevin Costner). They're two self-destructive, terribly selfish, occasionally boorish people who wallow in their own pity. Terry's furious and hurt because her husband left her for his Swedish secretary, while Danny's a former Detroit Tiger who now spends signing baseball memorabilia and running a radio talk show where he refuses to talk baseball.
They find solace in each other, not because they particularly like each other, but because they each need a drinking buddy. But thanks to two very fine performances, they're likable.
Much to Binder's credit, he doesn't simply settle his story on Terry and Danny. Wisely, Binder lets his story take its time. We get to know Terry's children, too. There's Andy (Erika Christensen), who's dating an older lech Shep (Binder); Popeye (Evan Rachel Wood), the youngest and budding filmmaker; Emily (Keri Russell), who feels unloved; and rebellious Hadley (Alicia Witt). These young women have their own personalities and spending time with them makes the story richer.
Costner is awfully comfortable playing Danny. In fact, Danny is Crash Davis, slightly older and a bit more cynical. Danny doesn't like clinging to his baseball past, but he knows that's all he's got. It's nice to see Costner in these roles. He plays them better than most and it's a loose, relaxed performance that never goes over the top.
But the movie really is all about Allen. It's tough turning a self-destructive and pitiful alcoholic into someone we want to spend time with. But Allen simply sparkles in the role. She's smart, quick-witted and fraying at the edges, trying to keep her wits about her. We not only understand her roller-coaster emotions, but also find them believable. Performances like hers are truly rare and Allen does nothing wrong here.
Had this film been released last year, Hilary Swank might very well not have walked away with her second Academy Award. Not only does Allen deserve a nomination for her remarkable performance in this film, she also probably deserves to win it.
What surprising about Binder's story is that despite all its warmth and humor, there's still a very nice and unexpectedly dark edge to it all. It's refreshing to see a film where the characters and the situations aren't exactly all that rosy. And even moments that could have easily been played for their melodrama are brilliantly underplayed and toned down. They work much better this way, than having characters resort to histrionics.
The film's voice-over narration, on the other hand, gets a bit preachy. And a revelation at the end is a bit questionable. Astute viewers would figure it out because that's really the only rational way to deal with it. Binder sort of lets us in on it very early on in the film.
We never get to see the title's real meaning in this film. That, presumably, comes after the end credits and all these characters get on with their lives. Nevertheless, "The Upside of Anger" is a good film studded with a great performance by one of today's finest actresses.