Wikipedia

The Upside of Anger

The Upside of Angeris a 2005 Americanromanticcomedy-dramafilm written and directed byMike Binderand starringJoan Allen,Kevin CostnerandEvan Rachel Wood.The film was produced byJack Binder,Alex Gartner and Sammy Lee, received mostly positive reviews with praise for Allen and Costner's performances, and was also a moderate box office success grossing $28.2 million from a $12 million budget.

The Upside of Anger
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMike Binder
Written byMike Binder
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRichard Greatrex
Edited by
  • Steve Edwards
  • Robin Sales
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byNew Line Cinema(North America)
Media 8 Entertainment (international)
Release dates
  • January 23, 2005(2005-01-23)(Sundance)
  • March 11, 2005(2005-03-11)(United States)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million[1]
Box office$28.2 million[1]

Plot

edit

Beginningin medias res,the opening scene presents Terry Wolfmeyer and a friend, Denny Davies, attending afuneral.

The film flashes back to three years earlier, when a heavily intoxicated Terry announces to her daughters Hadley, Andy, Emily and Popeye that their father, Grey, has left the family to be with his secretary inSweden.

Terry continues to drink heavily to cope with her anger and pain, which causes her daughters to resent her. She later shares the news about her husband with her neighbor Denny, a retired baseball player turnedradio talk showhost and fellow heavy drinker. They progressively grow closer, and eventually begin an intimate relationship.

Keen to help where he can, Denny helps Andy to become a production assistant at the radio station where he works. There she meets Shep, Denny's producer who is a questionable character in his 40s; Andy and Shep begin a relationship which disgusts and angers Terry.

Meanwhile Popeye, a high school student, pursues a romance with her classmate Gorden, but he reveals to her that he's gay. They instead become close friends, bonding over their respective broken homes.

Terry clashes with Emily, who wants to pursue a career as a professional ballet dancer and rejects her mother's desire for her to go to a traditional university. Emily ultimately relents and starts classes atUniversity of Michiganat Ann Arbor, but is soon hospitalized for complications from an eating disorder. She returns home to recover and, after a night at the ballet with the entire family, Terry appears to accept Emily's desire to pursue dance. Meanwhile, Andy does well at her radio station job and soon outgrows her relationship with Shep.

Hadley graduates from college and immediately afterward tells her mother and sisters that she's pregnant and engaged to her longtime boyfriend, David. Terry reacts with anger that Hadley had not told her sooner or ever bothered to introduce her to David, leading to an embarrassing drunken scene at a lunch with David's parents.

When Popeye asks Denny what his long-term intentions are concerning his relationship with her mother, he decides to broach the subject with Terry. He is hit with anger and accusations that he is trying to push her into a marriage for which she feels unready. Weary and tired of Terry's ever-shifting moods, Denny confronts her and then storms out of her house. After a brief separation, Terry finally acknowledges the depth of her feelings for him, and they reunite.

When a real estate deal involving both Denny and Terry finally goes through, construction begins in the area surrounding their homes. A worker accidentally uncovers an abandoned, partially covered well, where Grey Wolfmeyer's body is found, revealing that he had never left his family. Rather, he had accidentally fallen in the well and died. Because Grey's secretary had abruptly returned to Sweden at the same time he disappeared, Terry believed he had run away with her.

As the story returns to the initial scene, the Wolfmeyers and Denny, now part of the family, leave Grey'sfuneralto reveal that Terry, while saddened and grieving, is coming to terms with her own and her daughters' life choices and, finally, finding some inner peace.

Cast

edit

Production

edit

Mike Binder wrote the role of Terry specifically for Joan Allen, having befriended the actress after working with her on the filmThe Contender.[2][3]According to Binder in the "Making of" featurette on the film's DVD, the script was rejected by several major studios due to the casting of Allen (which goes unexplained); he and his producer brother Jack Binder then sought independent financing and renegotiated compensation deals with talent in order to complete the film.[4]Binder said the film was able to get thegreen-lightfrom studios when Kevin Costner was cast.[5]

Much of the film was shot atEaling Studios,London,with some scenes filmed inBloomfield Hills,Michigan,a wealthy suburb ofDetroit.[6][7]At one point in the film, Detroit rock radio stationWRIFserves as a backdrop.[8]

Costner's character, Denny Davies, is believed to be based on Detroit Tigers pitcherDenny McLain.[9]Like McLain, Davies is a retired player from theDetroit Tigerswho later had a radio talk show (several still pictures of Costner from his 1999 filmFor Love of the Game,in which he played a Tigers pitcher named Billy Chapel, are used as posters in Davies' radio studio).

Reception

edit

Release

edit

The Upside of Angerpremiered in January 2005 at theSundance Film Festival[10]and went into alimited theatrical releasein the U.S. on March 11, 2005.[11][12]

Critical response

edit

The film holds a 74% approval rating atRotten Tomatoesbased on 184 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A comedy/drama for grown-ups, with fine performances by Joan Allen and Kevin Costner."[13]

Much praise was given to the performance of Joan Allen, withDavid DenbyofThe New Yorkercalling her "rancorously funny"[14]and Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporterwriting, "Allen turns the character into a tour de force that unleashes an unexpected comedy about compassion and self-loathing."[15][16]Peter TraversofRolling Stonewrote the film is "a fiercely funny human comedy with jokes that sting and leave marks."[17]

CriticRoger Ebertawarded the film four out of four stars and wrote, "I liked these characters precisely because they were not designed to be likable -- or, more precisely, because they were likable in spite of being exasperating, unorganized, self-destructive and impervious to good advice."[18]Scott Tobias ofThe A.V. Clubnoted the film's thematic similarities toAmerican Beauty,another "dark suburban comedy leavened by the promise of arty redemption."[19]He added, "So long as the tone stays mean and unpredictable,The Upside Of Angerhas a coarse edge that's rare for mainstream cinema, helped along by the offbeat rapport between Allen and Costner. "[19]

Desson ThomsonofThe Washington Postwrote "What's best about 'Upside' is its gonzo-sitcom craziness, a situation that lends itself to enjoyable performances," and praised the four actresses who play the Wolfmeyer daughters.[20]

There was criticism of the ending from multiple critics, withThe Village Voicecalling it a "stupefying final twist, a stunning betrayal of audience trust"[21]andThe New York Timesdescribing it as "an utter catastrophe".[18]Ebert defended the ending, writing, "Life can contain catastrophe, and life can cheat. The ending is the making of the movie, its transcendence, its way of casting everything in a new and ironic light, causing us to reevaluate what went before, and to regard the future with horror and pity. Without the ending,The Upside of Angeris a wonderfully made comedy of domestic manners. With it, the movie becomes larger and deeper. "[18]

Awards and nominations

edit
Award Category Nominee Outcome Ref.
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress Joan Allen Won
[22]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Actress Nominated
[23]
Best Supporting Actor Kevin Costner Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Best Actress Joan Allen Nominated
[24]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Kevin Costner Won
[25]
Satellite Awards Best Musical or Comedy Actress Joan Allen Nominated [26]
Best Musical or Comedy Actor Kevin Costner Nominated

Home media

edit

The Upside of Angerwas released on DVD fromNew Line Home Entertainmenton July 26, 2005.[27]

References

edit
  1. ^ab"The Upside of Anger".Box Office Mojo.RetrievedJuly 19,2010.
  2. ^Clark, John (March 13, 2005)."Quiet Star Gets Angry and Earthy".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  3. ^"The Upside of Anger - Full Production Notes".Made in Atlantis.Archivedfrom the original on May 28, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  4. ^Binder, Mikeet al. "Creating the Upside of Anger." (Featurette) DVD.New Line Home Entertainment.The Upside of Anger.July 26, 2005.
  5. ^Germain, David (January 25, 2005)."Costner finds new game in 'The Upside of Anger'".The Associated Press.Archivedfrom the original on September 13, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022– viaThe Gainesville Sun.
  6. ^"Michigan's 'Movie Maven'".The Argus-Press.November 13, 2005.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  7. ^"The Upside of Anger".filmbudget.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  8. ^"Detroit Rocker WRIF Launches Podcast Celebrating Its Own Motor City Legacy".InsideRadio.November 6, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on September 13, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  9. ^"Costner's back: And that might not be a bad thing".Wilmington Star-News.March 10, 2005.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  10. ^Stein, Ruthe (January 25, 2005)."SUNDANCE DIARY / Now batting (once again): Kevin Costner".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  11. ^"Sundance Film Festival 2005 Preview: PART FOUR".ComingSoon.net.January 11, 2005.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  12. ^Goodridge, Mike (February 24, 2005)."New Line sees upside from Anger".Screen Daily.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  13. ^"The Upside of Anger (2004)".Rotten Tomatoes.RetrievedApril 30,2024.
  14. ^Denby, David (April 4, 2005)."Two Women".The New Yorker.Archived fromthe originalon June 27, 2006.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  15. ^Honeycutt, Kirk."The Upside of Anger".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived fromthe originalon April 8, 2005.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  16. ^Stein, Ruthe (July 26, 2005)."Good acting, adult plot make 'Upside of Anger' worth seeing".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  17. ^Travers, Peter (January 27, 2005)."The Upside of Anger".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon July 13, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  18. ^abcEbert, Roger (March 17, 2005)."An emotional roller coaster".RogerEbert.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  19. ^abTobias, Scott (March 8, 2005)."The Upside Of Anger".The A.V. Club.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  20. ^Howe, Desson (March 18, 2005)."These Actors Have 'Upside'".The Washington Post.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  21. ^Winter, Jessica (March 7, 2005)."Look Back in Anger: Self-Pitying Drunks Drown in Glib Alkie Romance".The Village Voice.Archived fromthe originalon March 10, 2005.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  22. ^"Chicago Film Critics Awards - 1998-07".chicagofilmcritics.org.Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  23. ^"The 11th Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners and Nominees".Broadcast Film Critics Association.Archived fromthe originalon June 29, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  24. ^"2005 Awards (9th Annual)".Online Film Critics Society.January 3, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  25. ^Stein, Ruthe (December 13, 2005)."'Brokeback' is top film pick of S.F. critics ".SFGATE.RetrievedSeptember 10,2022.
  26. ^"2005 10th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards".International Press Academy.Archived fromthe originalon February 2, 2008.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  27. ^"The Upside of Anger (DVD)".Archivedfrom the original on September 13, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Upside_of_Anger&oldid=1251320135"