Pat is a middle-aged man who returns home from a mental health facility in Baltimore. He makes an effort to patchup with his estranged wife Nikki by doing everything in his power to control his mood swings and also his weight issues. He hesitates to take his medicines and has a legal restraining order on him. His therapy sessions with his doctor are also a necessity.
His father is a control freak whose only motto in life seems to be the victory of his favorite Eagles team in the football league. He follows all sorts of superstitions (juju as they call) and deems his son as his good luck charm. He in fact places bets on his team and is banking on them for money to start a restaurant.
The movie has a nice father-son angle going, though it isn’t mushy and obvious. Pat’s mother is a typical sweet lady who stands by her son and tolerates his antics at all sorts of odd times even in the middle of the night.
We then have Tiffany, a firebrand of a woman and a young widow, who has her own issues. She is straightaway attracted to Pat and does what she can to help Pat come out of his mood swings and bipolar behavior. Whether she helps Pat come out of his mess and whether her love for Pat bears fruition is the climax of this feel-good movie about imperfect people and their quest to find a silver lining in their life.
Bradley Cooper plays it perfectly as the man struggling with his own mind and striving to make something meaningful out of his life. The scenes when he reaches a manic stage are really well done by the handsome actor. Jennifer Lawrence is an absolute firecracker, exhibits a range of emotions easily, particularly when she is hyper, and her supple dance frame is hot to say the least. Robert De Niro plays the dad who is a sports freak, a caring dad and a control freak. A nice role easily pulled off by the legend.
Jacki Weaver as the mom, Chris Tucker as Pat’s crazy friend Danny and Anupam Kher as the doctor add weight to the movie in their own ways. It is entertaining to watch Anupam’s antics at the Eagles game and to hear him say ‘cocksucker’. And after hearing the name Nikki countless times in the movie we get to see her in the end.
The climax, though fairytale, is feel-good and it is always heartening to see characters with all their imperfections and struggles, find some solace and silver lining in their lives.
Don’t miss this, for the uninhibited performances of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper and the inherent goodness in the movie. Kudos to David O. Russell and team
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