#17 - The Upside of Anger

Woohoo!! Four hot chicks...and Kevin Costner and Joan Allen. But don't forget about the four hot chicks!!! But seriously, it's more like three and a half hot chicks cause Alicia Witt isn't in the movie very much. Actually, its like two and a half hot chicks cause I will always think of Evan Rachael Wood as being a cracked out thirteen year old. Honestly, its like two hot chicks because even though Erika Christensen is pretty damn cute in this movie, she gets it on with the sleazy older dude. In all actuality its like five hot chicks because Keri Russell is such a cutie in this movie that she counts for four hot chicks. After crunching the numbers, it is officially five hot chicks...and Kevin Costner and Joan Allen.

Speaking of the two main characters, one of them is actually pretty good, and the other one has a character I just can't wrap my head around. If you guessed that I can't wrap my head around Kevin Costner's character, you would be dead wrong!! You see, he actually plays the kind of character he is good at playing. Its that romantic male lead with a bit of a swagger. But this time, he's not the one in charge of the relationship. I know what you're thinking. You are thinking that in Kevin Costner movies there is suppossed to be a female who falls in love with his pig headed character for no real reason at all. This movie flips it around. He actually falls in love with a pig headed Joan Allen for no real reason at all.

In this movie, Joan Allen plays a woman who has been left by her husband for his young secretary. The problem that I have with her character is that I felt no sympathy for her struggles. She has become an alcoholic and is drastically detached from the lives of her four...I mean FIVE daughters. If this was a dark comedy, some of her actions would be funny because they are in that style. But this movie has the feel to it of one where you are suppossed to sympathize with the main character. Its not quite a chick flick, but it is definately geared towards the female audience, especially the older female audience. But she doesnt start out as a good person. She is too involved in her own self pity and self loathing that she ignores the lives and feeling of her daughters and completely disregards the fact that they may be suffering too.

Overall, I was suprised because I didnt expect to enjoy any of this movie. The performances by the cast were pretty good. Is it possible to not enjoy a character, but enjoy the portrayal of that character? I was basically impressed because this movie wasn't completely filled by the cliches I expect from this kind of movie. The writer and director is also the sleazy guy who Erika Christensen gets it on with. I can't get over a sleazy guy writing something like this, but he did. In the end, don't rush out and get it, but if your not sure about what movie to watch and its there, give it a shot.