The Upside Of Anger

Really liked it. Dislike that anyone could dislike it to the point of anger.

I lol'd at least a handful of times, and when I wasn't laughing, I remained completely interested. The film was solid in every way. Acting, casting, directing, production, screenplay all were above average to exceptional. There were few if any weak links.

I don't know the appropriate way to present this film to another to set their expectations in a reasonable way. It's a very unique film with a uniquely likeable set of characters (Kevin Costner has rarely, if ever, been more agreeable, but the girls were even moreso), sprinkled with some relateably dislikable traits. I would call it somewhat melancholic-comedic slice of life, and while that's not quite accurate, in the spirit of the film, it's probably good enough.

I hadn't heard of it, expected nothing, and was beyond pleasantly surprised.

Grade: 8/10

This being the first grade, it's a good time to bring up the difficulty inherent in such a concept. This film was a 10/10 in doing what it was trying to do, but a perfect 10 has to be reserved for a film like Magnolia, which is a reasonable comparison for this film, but was more expansive and ambitious, and so is deserving of a higher grade.