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Movies / Upcoming / The Upside of Anger
The Upside of Anger

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The Upside of Anger (2005)

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Reviews Counted:167

Fresh:122

Rotten:45

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: A comedy/ drama for grown-ups, with fine performances by Joan Allen and Kevin Costner.

Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $18,742,061

Synopsis: Starring Joan Allen, THE UPSIDE OF ANGER spans three years of a woman's life following her husband's sudden disappearance. Terry Wolfmeyer (Allen), an affluent suburban Detroit wife and mother,... Starring Joan Allen, THE UPSIDE OF ANGER spans three years of a woman's life following her husband's sudden disappearance. Terry Wolfmeyer (Allen), an affluent suburban Detroit wife and mother, goes from a paragon of sweetness to a volcano of rage in the wake of her husband's desertion; she thinks he has jetted off to Sweden with his Swedish secretary. Barely holding it together for her four daughters (distinctively played by Alicia Witt, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, and Evan Rachel Wood), Terry fitfully adjusts while befriending Denny Davies (Costner), a retired baseball player and radio personality up the street who shares her love of the all-day cocktail hour. Allen is a delightful force, displaying serious comedic talent and effortlessly stealing each scene. She glows with an unaffected sexiness, while Costner shines as the seemingly all-wrong man who turns out to be completely right. Writer-director Mike Binder casts a keenly perceptive eye on male-female relationships, a topic he also explored in his critically-acclaimed HBO series THE MIND OF THE MARRIED MAN. Binder also appears in a role as Denny's producer Shep, a shallow womanizer with surprisingly resonant reasons for being shallow. As the three years pass, Terry and her daughters are confronted with varying individual situations, choices, and compromises, with moments that ring true in ways both moving and strikingly funny. THE UPSIDE OF ANGER is an ideal combination of drama and humor. [More]

Starring: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Alicia Witt

Starring: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Alicia Witt, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, Mike Binder

Director: Mike Binder

Director: Mike Binder
Producer: Alex Gartner, Jack Binder, Sammy Lee
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for The Upside of Anger

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/13/05
Sydney Morning Herald
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N/R

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Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
05/18/05
Luke Buckmaster
Luke Buckmaster
In Film Australia
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are a few loose subplots in Mike Binder's film, but that only adds to the sense of its real-life charm. You'll be upset if you miss it.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/11/05
E! Online
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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The final twist is misjudged, and it doesn't cohere at any level; but some funny moments.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
05/04/07
Independent
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[L]ike Leaving Las Vegas, The Upside of Anger provides a galvanizing turn for its star--a daring alloy of pungent misery and jaw-dropping antics.

Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
04/25/05
Alan Dale
Alan Dale
Blogcritics.org

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Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/17/05
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

While beautifully cast and acted, this focuses on its comic strengths to the detriment of the drama, creating an unbalanced tone and leading to self-conscious attempts at serious observation. A pleasant watch, but nowhere near as profound as it thinks it

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/04/07
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Channel 4 Film

Always more than a mere by-numbers domestic drama, The Upside of Anger is desperately, darkly funny, with dialogue to, er, die for, and a perfect cast.

Full Review Source: musicOMH.com | comment Comment
07/02/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
musicOMH.com

A fresh, funny, pointed comedy

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/10/05
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net

though it's easy to poke fun at Costner, here is a movie that, for the first time in a long time, allows him to display his goofy affability.

Full Review Source: Lowell Sun | comment Comment
05/06/05
Austin O'Connor
Austin O'Connor
Lowell Sun

Binder has created a middle-aged female protagonist of rare depth and complexity, a jilted wife played by the great Joan Allen with screen-grabbing gusto.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
03/10/05
Brett Buckalew
Brett Buckalew
FilmStew.com

If you’ve doubted Kevin Costner or Joan Allen over the last few years, this is a terrific chance to see them both firing on all cylinders.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
03/17/05
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

This is one of those films with a math problem, where the sum of its parts do not add up. But what parts!

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
03/18/05
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

A squarely suburban movie with a distinctly bourgeois-shaped window on the world, but it's genuine and exceptionally well observed.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
03/10/05
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Allen and Costner] deliver pitch-perfect performances that lift The Upside of Anger several notches above the sometimes schematic script and direction.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
03/18/05
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

This is a movie that rests on its two leads. Allen and Costner play their parts like injured predators licking each other's wounds. They are magnificent, and they are healing.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
03/17/05
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

The upside of this movie are the performances - it's worth a look.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
03/21/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Latest News for The Upside of Anger

June 08, 2006: Sandler to Star in 9/11 Drama
Big-screen comedian Adam Sandler is going to get a little more serious for his next role. He'll be starring in Mike Binder's 9/11 drama "Empty City," along with Don... More...

February 21, 2006: Actress Trio Joins Sandler's "Reign"
Actresses Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, and Jada Pinkett-Smith will be joining Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle in "Reign O'er Me," a post-9/11 drama from "Upside of... More...

January 11, 2006: Chicago Critics Pick Their 2005 Winners (and Iowa!)
The Chicago Film Critics Group announced their nominees just before New Years' Eve, and they reconvened this week to vote on their year-end favorites. Also, the Iowa Film... More...

January 10, 2006: Online Film Critics Offer Their Annual Nominations
The OFCS, which is hosted right here at Rotten Tomatoes and (full disclosure) includes yours truly as a member, announced their year-end nominations yesterday ... and we hope... More...

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