Editorial Review:

Description:
A touching yet humorous film about a woman who finds her and her daughters' lives changed by a former baseball star who steps into her life as her drinking buddy.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary #1 with Director Mike Binder, Joan Allen and moderated by filmaker Rod Lurie
Deleted Scenes:Deleted scenes with commentary by Director Mike Binder (approx. 10 minutes)
Documentary:approx. 30 minutes
Theatrical Trailer




Amazon.com:
The sight of two lost souls finding something unavoidably necessary in each other carries The Upside of Anger through it pleasant episodic drift. When Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) realizes that her husband won't be coming home again, she hits the skids and the bottle, leaving her four thunderstruck daughters (Alicia Witt, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, and Evan Rachel Wood) to fend for themselves while she fends off the attentions of concerned neighbor Denny Davies (Kevin Costner). Writer/director Mike Binder (who has a good bit as Costner's sleazy producer) juggles too many subplots in this comedy/drama--his charming young actresses are all but wasted--then tosses in a wrongheaded climactic twist and terrible explanatory narration from young Wood. But the two leads do career-best turns: If you've given up hope on Costner, you'll be surprised by his shaggy dog appeal as a perpetually soused radio show host/faded ex-baseball star, while Allen's boozy, brittle performance is so remarkable that even her comic drunkenness is nuanced. --Steve Wiecking









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Rating: - unreal situations
The screenplay is poor. The characters do not act like real people, especially the Joan Allen character. This character does not know how to file a missing persons report, does not know what ballet is, does not work, has her daughters cook the dinner, and does nothing all day but take showers, drink, hop in and out of bed, and be mentally and physically abusive of family and friends. I could feel nothing for this character. The movie is a comedy in the sense that you will repeatedly
laugh because of its ineptness.

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Rating: - No Upside to this Movie
This movie was horrible. My sister rented it, and, bless her heart, she had faith that at some point it would have some highlights. There were no highlights, save one brief moment in a fantasy scene where a character's head blows up. It would have been a better movie if all the character's heads blew up.

When people crawl into a bottle because things get tough, it's not cute or funny. This film might have a place at AA meetings to illustrate how ugly alcoholism is.

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Rating: - Great Movie
I love Joan Allen and always have since Manhunter in the 1980s. This movie with Kevin who I think is one of the best actors ever make a great combination in this movie about a woman who does not know what happen to her husband. A great story and well done movie.

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Rating: - Better Than I Expected
Hubby runs off with his wallet, leaving Mom and four daughters, and I'm not known for my love of soapies or of Kevin Costner. But this is a surpringly watchable movie. Humor, cruelty, and cruel humor in its sharp, witty dialogue keep it moving. Warm, too, and not always as predictable as a typical review might make it seem. At times, it tries to be more than it is, such as when waxing philosophical about "the upside of anger," but generally it's just a strikingly realistic portrayal of some less than perfect characters and how they interact. Dark comedy is my favorite kind, and it's pretty obvious everyone involved in this project gave it their best.

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Rating: - Weird ending.
The Upside of Anger starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner seemed like an interesting and funny film but this is one of the strangest films of 2005. The ending is completely ridiculous and comes from nowhere, Allen's character is so unlikable, I can't believe how narrissitic she comes off. Keri Russell and Evan Rachel Wood are the only two characters that have some depth and Costner isn't too bad as others have stated. This film starts off promising but ends up drowning in its own stupidity. Stay away from this absurd turkey.