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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 source; Australian critics are listed first)
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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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

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

Click to read the article

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

I’d suggest a better title would be The Upside of Alcoholism,” but I really can’t think of any upside to this film.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
04/01/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

A drama mined with comic moments, the movie's got an Oscar-worthy performance from three-time Oscar nominee Joan Allen.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
04/08/05
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

The story develops with a mind of its own, free from convention and formula, and packs a heck of a twist at the end that does what a twist should do.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
03/30/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

It feels like a bloated Lifetime TV movie.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
03/17/05
Randy Cordova
Randy Cordova
Arizona Republic

A smart, funny, yet, at the same time, unrelenting look at what happens when a midlife slump collides with a midlife crisis.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
03/17/05
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Allen's desperate housewife makes this trip into suburbia worthwhile.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
04/20/05
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Even though Binder’s characters are all gems, the filmmaker needs to further hone his storytelling craft.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
04/23/05
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
AV Club
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Allen's imperious turn and Costner's affable charm go a long way to ensuring you'll look back on Anger with affection.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/01/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

[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

Binder is too facile an observer to get anywhere near the complexities of a house full of women -- instead, Terry is a prickly goddess, and the daughters are an assortment of muses.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/18/05
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/02/05
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's no downside to the crackling Costner/Allen pairing, but Binder spreads himself thin. He puts in play too many subplots about Allen's budding daughters.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
04/13/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

Unfortunately, despite predictably fine performances all around, the overall effect of the film is hampered by poor directorial execution and an act-three plot twist that defies plausibility.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
03/18/05
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

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

Binder ... has an astute ear for dysfunctional family dialect that enriches his complex story.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Weekly | comment Comment
04/04/05
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Charlotte Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

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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