I have heard nothing but amazing reviews about Silver Linings Playbook. Not good or even great things, but amazing things about Silver Linings Playbook. It’s probably going to be up for Best Picture, Jennifer Lawrence might be up for Best Actress, and Bradley Cooper has been getting some praise too.

While I wouldn’t say I had high expectations for Silver Linings Playbook, as I wasn’t really anticipating a drama that takes place in current day Philly, I would be lying to say I wasn’t expecting something good. So how was it? It wasn’t one of the best movies of the year like many of the reviews have been declaring, but it is very well-written and has fantastic performances from the two leads.

Silver Linings Playbook is about a guy named Pat (Bradley Cooper) who moved back in with his parents after spending eight months in an institution. Pat wants to rebuild his life and get back together with his wife despite the fact she is the reason he wound up in an institution. Pat meets a girl named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who has problems of her own. The two connect and decide to help each other out. Tiffany will help Pat get back together with his wife, if he’ll do something for her in return.

We’ve seen the general story in Silver Linings Playbook before and the movie even gets a little cliché (especially towards the end), but that’s not to say the story isn’t well done (quite the contrary). The dialogue in particular stands out. This movie solely relies on its dialogue to carry itself and that’s why it excels. Even during the scenes that didn’t have much going on (nothing that was really pushing the story forward) I was still thoroughly entertained.

The chemistry between the two leads (Pat and Tiffany) and the dialogue they share was one of the highlights of the movie. Some of that credit though, goes to the actors behind the roles. I don’t think I’ve seen Bradley Cooper give this great of a performance. He nails the character and emotion of Pat perfectly where I would forget I was watching Bradley Cooper and thought I was seeing somebody totally new. Same goes to Jennifer Lawrence. We knew she was an excellent actress from her performance in Winter’s Bone and she gives another great performance here. While I personally felt that Bradley Cooper stole the show, the chemistry they had is one of the reasons for that. Pat and Tiffany’s scenes together are the highlights of the movie. The two give such incredible performances and are backed up by a great screenplay that not only are these scenes the highlights of the movie, but are some of the highlights of the year.

Besides my gripe with some of the cliché moments in the movie, Silver Linings Playbook is a really great film. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence give such great performances and, even though the story isn’t anything to write home about, the movie is entertaining. While there’s no need to run out to the theater to see Silver Linings Playbook (a rental is perfectly fine), this movie shouldn’t be missed.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10