Movie Review: **^Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

This is not a family movie.  However, it does who people with mental illness, and their relationships with their families, friends and community.  This includes interactions with police.  In many instances there is stigma from family and friends, "I hear you just got out of the nut house" kind of stuff, which in is subtle way puts others down.  There is even stigma between those with mental illness, "So my illness is worse than yours." kind of stuff.  It is interesting how we react to people with mental health issues, and whether or not we can be safe around them.
The story is intriguing.  I love triangle, with part of the triangle out side of the picture and protected by restraining order.  However, she is the focus of the attentions of our primary character, Pat (Bradley Cooper).  He meets another girl, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who challenges him to dance with her in a competition.  Robert De Niro plays Pat's father, who has many superstitions about sports, and spending the right amount of time with his son so as to create good luck.  When his father loses a bet on the Eagles, Tiffany manipulates the holder of the bet to make a double bet, including on on the dance performance.  The have to score a 5, not a winning mark, but a mark higher than expected.  This creates a funny scene with the dancing, and a great cheer for a mediocre mark.  This movie gives important social information with regards to living with mental illness.  People with mental illness deserve to find a silver lining.  Too much bad language to recommend this movie however.

Movie Review: ****Bang the Drum Slowly,

  I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. It is a Paramount film from 1973, which I watched through Netflix DVD.  It stars Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty.  It is about two ball players, working through the inevitable death of one.  The catcher, who has always been a journeymen has cancer and Hodgkin's disease.  The pitcher, is a star, and insists he stay on the team as part of his contract.  The coach is left with a mystery, and finally uncovers it.  The actor, Vincent Gardenia, who portrays the coach won an Oscar.  But the story behind this is the friendship between the two main characters, and the reaction after the year is over and they have won the pennant, but the catcher ends up in the hospital after the clinching game, and passes away during the off season.  He is almost forgotten at the end.  The song "Streets of Loredo is featured, being sung by another catcher.

We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly,
And bitterly wept as we bore him along.
For we loved our comrade, so brave, young and handsome,

My only complaint is the season had teams from both leagues, which made it less realistic.  But of course it was fiction.