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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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61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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'The Upside of Anger' demonstrates the downside of moviemaking.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
04/06/05
Jeanne Kaplan
Jeanne Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

The movie was written and directed by Mike Binder, who has zero hits in his writing/directing career, and “Upside” will keep that record intact.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
04/06/05
David Kaplan
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

Admit it: You thought Kevin Costner’s best performances were miles behind him.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
04/05/05
Sara Brady
Sara Brady
Premiere Magazine

part romantic comedy, part melodrama, and all Joan Allen.

Full Review Source: Sean the Movie Guy | comment Comment
04/05/05
Sean McBride
Sean McBride
Sean the Movie Guy

Joan Allen has been saddled with so many repressed characters that it's a pleasure getting to see her break free. She's brash, she's funny, and she lights up the screen.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
04/04/05
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

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

Don't go into The Upside of Anger expecting the usual convenient and happy Hollywood solution to serious problems. That, to me, is the real upside.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
04/04/05
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

Is Mike Binder the new Woody Allen?

Full Review Source: Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) | comment Comment
04/03/05
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

This Film Is Filled With Socialist Propaganda, As Subtle As A Madman Swinging A Sledgehammer.

Full Review Source: Outtakes With Fiore | comment Comment
04/03/05
Fiore Mastracci
Fiore Mastracci
Outtakes With Fiore

Finally -- a well-acted, well-written drama for grownups, about grownups, that even contains grownup romance.

Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | comment Comment
04/03/05
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)

By treating his deeply flawed characters with equally deep warmth, Binder manages to tell viewers not to let bitterness consume them without coming off like a hypocrite.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/03/05
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

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

The actors tune in to their individual characters perfectly, but this is Allen's show.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/02/05
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter

A mature, informed piece of work that sticks in your head, your heart and your throat long after it's over.

Full Review Source: Dallas Observer | comment Comment
04/02/05
Robert Wilonsky
Robert Wilonsky
Dallas Observer

Allen rages, fumes, cries, laughs, tosses back vodka and tosses off sharply pointed verbal and physical barbs at everyone around her. And what fun she is!

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
04/02/05
Shirley Sealy
Shirley Sealy
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/02/05
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s a film without a sufficient spine.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
04/02/05
Bob Westal
Bob Westal
Film Threat

I'm not convinced there is an upside to anger, but the best thing about this film is that it gives two actors absolutely perfect roles.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
04/02/05
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Entertainment for grownups, a la James L. Brooks

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
04/02/05
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Long, slow, boring, movie with a nonsensical plot promoting Hollywood's secular immorality ending with a foolish, sophomoric soliloquy that serves as a fitting epitaph.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
04/02/05
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; 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...

See All

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