Allen may be the stand-out, but the others do hold their own. She and Costner have terrific chemistry, and each of the four actresses playing Terry's daughters are strong (in particular, Wood continues to impress).
The Upside of Anger (2005)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for The Upside of Anger
What The Upside of Anger gets right -- especially the work by Allen and Costner -- is more than enough reason to spend some time in the unhappy Wolfmeyer household.
Terry is, in short, a great role for any actress. And Allen, who isn't just any actress, rips into it with the relish of a woman looking to reinvent her career.
Binder's film is an intriguing, funny and sad look at a family in crisis.
I’d suggest a better title would be The Upside of Alcoholism,” but I really can’t think of any upside to this film.
Allen breathes fire into the role, turning what could have been a shrill character into a tower of raging rediscovery.
Hell hath no fury like Joan Allen scorned. We always knew she could act, but we never knew she could play a pissed off mother of four like a rabid pit bull with rouge.
Allen's great performance eventually is neutered in obeisance to the false notion that fictional characters must go through a redemptive arc for their stories to be of value.
Features many good scenes that feel authentic, but is interspersed with awkward 'movie moments' that don't ring true.
It is a true joy to see a wonderful actress get such a juicy role to sink her teeth into. If only it happened more often.
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.
If only Binder had trusted The Upside of Anger as a showcase for two performances by aging actors apparently comfortable about getting older.
...hits that specific note of comic melancholy that best captures real life.
Writer/director Mike Binder scripts sarcastic humor and dialogue that just avoids being glib, thanks in part to a pair of rich performances.
...generates enough moments to be recommended to anyone looking for a engaging, adult drama with a little alcohol mixed in for fun.
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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