A real mess, and a couple of totally unlikely scenes. - Silver Linings Playbook (2012) Discussion

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] donald-vanvliet 9 years ago

The movie has some problems, but your two examples are unconvincing.

1) She's a sex bomb (wrong casting, imho) but, while in real life she would have dozens of men chasing after her, she chases Cooper, even going to the point of following him while he goes jogging.

I don't think she's (supposed to be) a "sex bomb", so the premisse of your argument is wrong.

She was a troubled girl who used sex to deal with a trauma.

She chases Cooper because she can relate to him.

When they rehearse for the dance number, she lectures him about life while putting her bottom well in sight, but he doesn't seem to understand the hint. Considering that he was sex-starved since his wife had left him, how could he resist?

You don't understand that people can be so focused on one thing (getting back with his ex), that they don't really notice what's in front of them...

The mind is a tricky thing.

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[–] vispateresa 9 years ago

@donald-vanvliet: you may be right on the reason why she chases him, but she IS definitely a very attractive girl, which makes the situation very unlikely (she should have been chased rather than run after Cooper).

On the second part of my question, Cooper is a young, healthy male, which makes it totally implausible that he would resist in such a situation. But this is a movie, and we have to suspend belief....

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[–] Dejay 9 years ago

I find it extremely implausible as well. You'd have to be crazy not to go for her.

Haha but kidding aside... I guess the idea is that he is so hot and so alpha male that he doesn't change women... women chase him! And women like that. And/or he is so sensitive and caring about her needs he puts her in front of his own needs. Hey I think this is a romantic comedy!

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[–] jeffer23 9 years ago

You must not have watched the movie. Tiffany was chased. She was having casual sex regularly with numerous guys. There is the scene where Pat and Jordie shows up at her apartment and her folks believe they are both just there to contact Tiffany for the sex. But Tiffany was trying to escape this type of lifestyle which means she likely had no interest in 99% of the guys who were interested in her.

And just because a girl is good looking does not mean that guys are tripping over each other trying to get dates. Sometimes guys are scared of women who are strong minded and show behavior that they don't want to be treated like a sex object.

I also disagree with you about Cooper. You said

Considering that he was sex-starved

Where in the movie does it say he is sex starved? Not everyone in the world is a degenerate that only thinks about sex. Note that his first inclination after getting out of Baltimore was to get books for Nikki's teaching syllabus. Assuming that Nikki did have an affair, the reason could have been because Pat and Nikki rarely had sex before the shower incident.

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[–] vispateresa 9 years ago

@Jeffer: of course I have watched the movie. There is a scene where Tiffany clearly starts following Cooper.

Here is another fault of the movie: Tiffany is supposed to be a nymphomaniac, but this is not explicit (of course, since this is a comedy for families), which makes the movie even more confused.

2) Cooper was obsessed with his ex-wife, yet I find it difficult to believe that he would ignore a girl like Tiffany.

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[–] jeffer23 9 years ago

Note that Tiffany started following Cooper after he rejected the opportunity to have sex with her.

A nymphomaniac has sex because they love sex or are addicted to it. Tiffany is not a nymphomaniac. Tiffany has a medical issue related to the death of her husband that was connected to her "lack of desire" to have sex with him. She is having sex because of the guilt and trauma that was caused in his death. Tiffany develops interest in Pat because he is not like the other guys who are just taking advantage of her for the sex.

At one point in the movie, Pat stated that Nikki and him would have fights and not talk for weeks. If Pat so loved sex then why wasn't he the one out having an affair? Pat did not want sex with Tiffany because he was still delusional and claiming to be married to Nikki for a time period after leaving Baltimore. After his medications start to work, his thinking becomes more clear along with his interest in Tiffany and disinterest in Nikki.

As Pat stated near the end of the movie, it took a while for him to catch up.

There are no faults in this movie beyond the ignorance of the depression side of Bi-Polar disorder. And that was left out since it does not make good comedy.

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[–] vispateresa 9 years ago

Tiffany is not a nymphomaniac.

Somewhere else it is stated that Tiffany IS a nymphomaniac. I guess the issue is not made clear because this is a PG movie.

Tiffany has a medical issue related to the death of her husband that was connected to her "lack of desire" to have sex with him.

I'm afraid I don't understand this.

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[–] jeffer23 9 years ago

You obviously didn't catch the medical parts of the plot very well which is critical since the plot of this movie is focused on their medical conditions.

Tiffany tells the story about her husband to Pat in her apartment on his first visit when he brought the letter for Nikki. It was their first dance practice session.

Her husband was a Policeman. He was wanting a baby and Tiffany didn't feel ready to have a child. She went through a period where she did not want to have sex with her husband. One night he went to a lingerie store and bought her lingerie with hopes that it would make her have more interest. He was then accidentally killed that night while helping a stranded motorist on the way home. Tiffany saw the the lingerie in the passenger seat and then had major feelings of guilt from this incident. This is what triggered her to become promiscuous for a time period. The movie never shows her getting counseling, but she has taken some medication and received counseling just like Pat (as mentioned at the dinner at Ronnie and Veronica's house).

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[–] vispateresa 9 years ago

Thanks for explaining me this bit (I must confess I had forgotten about it, I saw the movie three years ago).

Yet, I'm sorry to say this adds to the ridiculousness of the plot. I have to say I watched the movie with some interest up to a certain point, then I lost interest altogether.

p.s. wasn't she aware of the existence of contraceptives? Didn't she know you can have sex and not conceive? 

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[–] jeffer23 9 years ago

One might say that you are ignorant on mental illness. It is also likely that you are just a troll trying to be hateful but coming off lacking in knowledge about the subject instead. You might try picking a different movie where you actually understand the plot.

p.s. wasn't she aware of the existence of contraceptives? Didn't she know you can have sex and not conceive?

I have no idea where you are going with this comment considering that neither Tiffany or any other female character was ever pregnant during the whole movie. But nice try anyway.

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[–] vispateresa 9 years ago

Jeffer, you wrote:

Her husband was a Policeman. He was wanting a baby and Tiffany didn't feel ready to have a child. She went through a period where she did not want to have sex with her husband.

So you are inferring that she didn't have sex with her husband because she didn't want children. Question: didn't she know about the existence of contraceptives?

Or maybe she just didn't want to have sex (full point).

The rest of the plot (Tiffany becoming a nymphomaniac because of the trauma of her husband's death after buying lingerie for her) is plain ridiculous (imho).

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[–] dannie_gurl95 9 years ago

It wasn't that she didn't want to have sex to avoid having a child. It was that his wanting a child and her not feeling ready for one put a strain on their relationship and so they didn't have sex as a result.

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[–] vispateresa 9 years ago

Thanks for further explanation. Yet, this doesn't lessen the utter ridiculousness of the whole plot.

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[–] jeffer23 9 years ago

You obviously don't have a clue about depression or mental illness.

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[–] vispateresa 8 years ago

You obviously don't have a clue about depression or mental illness.

Excuse me? I do have dealt with people with severe depression-anxiety in the past, and it's nowhere near as fun/silly/ridiculous as portrayed in this movie. That's why the whole plot and story sounds unbelievable to me and that's why this movie doesn't work as comedy nor as dramedy.

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[–] milicentbrovovich 9 years ago

The plot isn't ridiculous...you're just completely and utterly clueless on mental illness and how human beings interact with one another...like...I'm actually a bit shocked reading this whole thread just how clueless you are...and I'm sorry I don't mean that to sound insulting because you don't seem like a nasty person, just...very ignorant...

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[–] vispateresa 8 years ago

OK, I may be ignorant (although you don't know if I have have dealt with mentally ill people in my life, so I would be more careful before judgeing people I don't know personally).

The whole point of my critic is not on mental illness, but the fact that the tone of the movie is totally wrong. We have two lovely, good looking people whose mental illness is portrayed as a joke. There is NOTHING in this movie that makes you feel you are watching people with mental problems.

At the beginning of the movie Cooper does a decent job at interpreting a bipolar, but soon after we realize he's not that dangerous nor really ill after all, because the audience must be reassured that nothing really bad will happen (hey, this is A COMEDY after all!!).

Even Cooper's parents are ridiculous (his mother slightly less so - De Niro is in one of the worst roles of his life). Nothing is credible is in this movie, and at some point we just understand we are watching a variation of the usual romantic comedy and we can't expect anything more.

And yes, I do have dealt with people with severe depression-anxiety, and it's nowhere near as fun as portrayed in this silly comedy.

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[–] jeffer23 9 years ago

Good perspective. I had forgot about that.

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[–] vispateresa 8 years ago

A nymphomaniac has sex because they love sex or are addicted to it. Tiffany is not a nymphomaniac.

What is exactly that you find disturbing in the word "nymphomaniac"? Nymphomania is a medical condition and, in Tiffany's case, it was induced by grief, plus, she too seems to have other mental issues. I see no difference, so, no matter what the causes, she's technically a nymphomaniac.

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[–] markweinreb 9 years ago

It was a mess of a movie. Very overrated. I liked the dance scenes between Bradley cooper and jlaw, but other than that..mixed take on mental illness, having gad,bipolar and,addictiobs. Hard to believe that dancing cured both without meds. Dont think that it,should have been nominated for best picture that year..I guess it was,a weak crop of films,in 2012

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[–] jeffer23 9 years ago

mixed take on mental illness

This is one of the most accurate portrayals of Bipolar Disorder in all movies. It fails to show the depression side because that doesn't make good comedy, but the other part is portrayed very accurately.

Hard to believe that dancing cured both without meds

You didn't watch the movie or failed to pay any attention to it while it was playing. It is made clear during the movie that Pat starts taking medications the morning after the night of the wedding video where he hits his father and mother. Tiffany is probably cured by the relationship with Pat. Her depression was related to the loss of her husband. The movie never says either one is cured. A bipolar person will be in a battle for the rest of their life like people with many other illnesses. Medication, support, exercise, and happy relationships will help to make their life more productive and happier than without them and that is all the movie leaves with you in the end.

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[–] milicentbrovovich 9 years ago

Neither one of them is cured of their mental illness, but they bond because of their mental illnesses as they are ''not like other people, they are not liars'' so they have an understanding and trust each other. Pat is still going to be his bi-polar self and tiffany is still going to get depressed at times but together they can work through it as they are both very direct and honest with each other (except for Tiffany lying about the letter, which is sort of understandable as it comes from the fact she's in love with Pat and is very frustrated by this)

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[–] CharlesTheBold 8 years ago

She's a sex bomb (wrong casting, imho)
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You're reading ideas into the movie and then criticizing it for not doing them right. Tiffany was never intended to be a "sex bomb", so Jennifer didn't play her as one.

she chases Cooper, even going to the point of following him while he goes jogging.
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She's tired of people using her for easy sex, and intrigued by a guy who REJECTED her proposition because he still believed in romantic love (longing for Nikki even though everybody else knows it's a terrible idea)

Considering that he was sex-starved since his wife had left him, how could he resist?
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When does he say that he's sex-starved? His problem is an unrealistic romantic dream of winning Nikki back. Not everybody is addicted to sex.

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[–] vispateresa 8 years ago

You're reading ideas into the movie and then criticizing it for not doing them right. Tiffany was never intended to be a "sex bomb", so Jennifer didn't play her as one.

If they didn't want a sex bomb, then they should've cast another actress, pretty but not a model type like JLaw. Also, the direction kept focusing on her body, her behind, etc. (see the dance rehearse scene). Of course, a next-door girl type wouldn't have attracted the audiences.

I found this in a review by a professional critic (Robbie Collin on Telegraph.co.uk) so I'm not wrong after all:

Russell’s camera spends the entire film furtively ogling her hindquarters like a pervert on a busy train, and she deserves better.

When does he say that he's sex-starved? His problem is an unrealistic romantic dream of winning Nikki back. Not everybody is addicted to sex.

Of course the script doesn't let us understand that he's sex-starved, but he's a healthy young man, so it's difficult to think he would resist such a temptation.

This movie is nothing more than another variation of the romantic comedy (not about bipolar syndrome - even the more "dramatic" bits are plain ridiculous) so we can't expect nothing more than the nice romantic story with a happy ending.

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