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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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81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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).

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
04/01/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
04/01/05
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

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.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
04/01/05
M.E. Russell
M.E. Russell
Oregonian

Binder's film is an intriguing, funny and sad look at a family in crisis.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
04/01/05
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

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

Allen breathes fire into the role, turning what could have been a shrill character into a tower of raging rediscovery.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
04/01/05
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

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.

Full Review Source: Richmond.com | comment Comment
04/01/05
Mike Ward
Mike Ward
Richmond.com

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.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
04/01/05
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Features many good scenes that feel authentic, but is interspersed with awkward 'movie moments' that don't ring true.

Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
04/01/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

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.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
03/31/05
Paul Doro
Paul Doro
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Can only be described as American Beauty Lite (and Carb Free!).

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
03/31/05
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

A sharply funny, piercing examination of righteous indignation.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
03/30/05
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

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

If only Binder had trusted The Upside of Anger as a showcase for two performances by aging actors apparently comfortable about getting older.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
03/29/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

A funny comedy for adults.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
03/27/05
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com

Standard-issue.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
03/25/05
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

...hits that specific note of comic melancholy that best captures real life.

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
03/25/05
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

Writer/director Mike Binder scripts sarcastic humor and dialogue that just avoids being glib, thanks in part to a pair of rich performances.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/23/05
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A better than average dip into the family well.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
03/23/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

...generates enough moments to be recommended to anyone looking for a engaging, adult drama with a little alcohol mixed in for fun.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
03/22/05
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
 
 
81 - 100 (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...

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