Why I liked "Silver Linings Playbook"

So tonight my wife and I went to see "Silver Linings Playbook."  I forget if I had seen the trailer or not, but it really wasn't on my radar.  However, it was on hers.  And as it turns out, I really liked it.  Here's why:

1. First of all, it's a movie that dares to be different.  It's quirky, calling on the main characters, all played by big stars, to portray strange people, some of questionable mental health, who somehow find a way to be happy.

2. It's a cooky ensemble movie with a quirky sensibility following in the footsteps of a slew of smart, left-of-center movies such as "Little Miss Sunshine," "Moonrise Kingdom,"  "About a Boy," and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."  The characters are loveable, yet they sometimes uncomfortably approach being anti-heroes.  Yet ultimately, sanity and triumph prevails, and they attain simple everyday victories and the resulting happiness of truly being alive.

3.  It's a heart warming love story about the simple triumph of people caring for each other.  I personally really liked it when Bradley Cooper's character reveals that he loves Tiffany, the character played by Jennifer Lawrence (I just looked up her name on Google since I didn't remember it).  It reminded me of how grateful I was when I told my wife that I loved her, six months after we met.  Maybe our life will be made into a movie also!

4. This movie just made me feel happy to be alive.  Some movies jostle me, some movies inspire me, some movies challenge me to want to play a bigger role in life (this last one is what "Lincoln" and "Avatar" did).  "Silver Linings Playbook" gave me a sense of peace and enjoyment.  Hooray!

5. I identified with Pat's situation and was curious about it from the beginning.  I've been through my own shit in life, a trying time when I also had to start all over, remove myself from my own routine just like Pat did (I finally looked up the character's name!).  No, I didn't go to a psychiatric ward!  But I did take over a year off from college after dropping out, and in that time I didn't do much besides recuperate and reset before moving forward with graduating from college and adulthood.  I suffered from severe anxiety and depression after exhausting myself for years in my studies.  Movies about hospital patients struggling to re-enter society have a certain appeal for me because I relate to those characters in my own way. Such movies are "Patch Adams,"  "Girl Interrupted," and even "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which I just saw for the first time last week, and though that is of course a very dark movie, still, I could relate.  Another one, which I had to look up on Google as well to remember (Google =makes us all geniuses of information retrieval), is "It's Kind of a Funny Story."

6.  Bradley Cooper did a bangin job as Pat.  His performance was definitely Oscar worthy, in my opinion.   It's always impressive for me to see an A-list male celebrity known for his "coolness" and "sex appeal" to take a risk with an underdog, a conflicted, strange, problematic character like Pat.  Him playing this role renewed my liking for Cooper and instilled greater respect in me for him.  I had a similar reaction to seeing Christian Bale in "The Fighter."  When a hot shot leading male actor takes a risk with with a role like this,  I think it demonstrates their artistic intelligence and versatility.   Other leading "hot shot" males who have impressed me in the past are George Clooney (in "Up in the Air" and "The Descendants," for example), and Brad Pitt (in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Moneyball").  It is my opinion that true artists don't limit themselves, and Cooper shows real courage here (as do the rest of the ensemble...  I'm sure other people will identify with other characters based on who they are; in my case, I identified the most with Cooper's character).

There ya go, that's my thoughts on what was appealing about the movie.  I'm a big fan of movies, and my wife and I tend to choose good ones.  In this case, I didn't have any expectations, but since she was interested in seeing it, I thought it would be good.  And I wasn't disappointed.

Have a Little Faith In Yourself

(Originally written 6/10/10)

I admit it, there have been times when my confidence has been tested. As fun as it is to take on a new endeavor like I have with this whole CWiggz! adventure, it's not always easy. Sometimes, things happen that make me look in the mirror and see just how much I really believe in myself. These are the times when the cosmic voice from within seems to be asking me, "What are you really made of, sonny?"

A couple of years ago I lost a working relationship with someone who had been very important to me. Prior to an ugly incident that resulted in him cutting off contact with me, I prided myself on having this man's trust, and was really counting on that relationship to help me in my career. But unfortunately, life said otherwise, and all of a sudden I could no longer work with this person. Despite the enormous pain this situation caused for me, I made a determination then and there that I was going to be bigger than it, that I was going to rise above it and triumph. Over these last couple of years I have consciously moved forward DESPITE the deep frustration of this experience, and it has taught me that no matter what happens, I always have the choice to keep going.

Situations like that will come up, and each time it takes determination to move past it. Just a few days ago I had an encounter with someone who said some mean things about me via e-mail. And for a moment there, I was confronted with this doubting voice in my head that said, "Maybe he's right. Maybe I am no good." But it didn't take me very long to realize that thinking like that was a path leading to nowhere, and that I'm not willing to settle for going down the road of self doubt. So I quickly turned it around the best I could by standing my ground. Now I look at an incident like this as a test yet again to see if I really have the confidence it takes to succeed.

And now, as I prepare to release my album, I am facing possibly the hardest test of my self confidence I have so far had to face. I am getting ready to let the entire world see this creation of mine that I have worked day after day on, week after week on, year after year on (!). I am literally giving my creation up to the opinion of the world. Is that scary? Definitely. Does that require me to face every little demonic voice that is talking to me negatively? Absolutely. Am I planning to let this stop me? No fricking way!

Because I know that this is just part of the adventure. I knew this when I signed up for it, back in 2004 when I first decided to do this album, back when it took me literally six months to get over the fear and embarrassment I felt over even having the idea of rapping. I knew this, even when it took me nearly four years of performing at open mics before I could let my guard down enough to listen to what other people had to say. Even when I was so susceptible to my own fear of criticism that I had to shut out people for awhile, even when I thought I had to get on stage with the mindset of a railroad (I'm gonna ram my stuff through, and ain't no one gonna stop me!), even then I knew that facing and conquering my own negativity was part of this game, a rite of passage I would have to go through. And now I believe I have created a foundation of confidence that will get me through life's challenges, because it is always within my power to continue having faith in myself.


Thanks for reading. I hope this posting makes a difference for you the next time something in life happens to challenge your self confidence. Because, believe me, it will happen.

Have a little faith in yourself.

Best,

CWiggz!