Alcoholism has been depicted on the silver screen innumerable times, but is rarely handled the same way twice.
Usually, the film's theme dictates the treatment: It will often play a supporting role, personified by a token drunk (Dean Martin's El Borracho in \Rio Bravo"" is a favorite), or it will remain in the forefront as much more than a mere character trait (Nicolas Cage's Oscar-winning performance in ""Leaving Las Vegas"" being the quintessential example).
No matter what purpose it serves, the overall tone of the writer or director's approach should stay somewhat consistent; imagine ""Leaving Las Vegas"" if Cage's character's debilitating addiction was filmed with the broad whimsy of Dudley Moore's perpetually bombed ""Arthur"" or the hilarious uncouthness of Billy Bob Thornton's ""Bad Santa.""
Mike Binder's ""The Upside of Anger"" purports to be a darkly searing comedy-drama about family dynamics and middle-aged romance fueled by alcoholism but emerges as an insipid, tonally disparate mess with two great performances lost amid mediocre filler.
Kevin Costner-and especially Joan Allen-tower above Binder's subpar material and successfully enhance what sparse quality there is. Allen is Terry Wolfmeyer, a Michigan homemaker whose husband deserts her, presumably for his Swedish secretary.
The jilted Terry starts hitting the bottle like a champ, soaking up whatever Grey Goose the local supermarket has in stock, in between dodging advances from her husband's pal Denny (Costner). Denny is a washed-up baseball star and lackadaisical host of a local radio show who gets a whiff of Terry's desperation and likes what he smells.
He eventually ingratiates himself into the Wolfmeyer's home, attempting to charm his way past Terry's constant bitterness and her four daughters' understandable uncertainty.
Clunky subplots abound in Binder's bloated debut feature, including one in which Denny's pal Shep (played by Binder himself) improbably hooks up with Terry's decades-younger daughter Andy (Erika Christensen).
Binder divvies up other decidedly uninteresting stories for the other three daughters, including Alicia Witt (the eldest; encounters college graduation, marriage), Keri Russell (encounters anorexia, opposition to her ballerina aspirations) and Evan Rachel Wood (the youngest and best of the bunch; encounters dreamy gay classmates, the reefer).
Binder has a sporadically keen wit. A few powerful and droll scenes pop out amid the humdrum, but his writing is deeply inconsistent and unforgivably patchy. His observations on life are as sharp as a butter knife, doing little to enliven the tiresome onslaught of estrogen-drenched emotion. Balancing comedy and drama is a considerable feat; it's a high-wire act immensely talented writers like Alan Ball (""American Beauty"") can achieve, but struggling chuckleheads like Binder fumble. The resident alcoholics serve as foils to each other; Allen pouts and cracks wise while amiable Costner exploits his stumbling, cockeyed charm.
The element of alcoholism, however, is borderline superfluous-it has nearly no bearing on Allen's behavior (which would have been as callous and cold without the Goose) or Costner's career or behavior, and is rarely even mentioned or complained about (though it is ubiquitous).
""The Upside of Anger,"" especially in its attitude toward and representation of alcoholism, reveals itself to be disingenuous and hollow-by going through the motions, Binder shoehorns events in rather than caring enough about his story and characters to flesh them out. The result is a jittery melodrama so scattered it feels as if even its main characters are written off.
Costner's slight return to form and Allen's typically finely wrought portrayal are the lone reasons ""The Upside of Anger"" isn't the Lifetime Channel's Wednesday Nite Weepie.
Joan Allen is certainly one of the most versatile, consummate actresses of her era, and her current prominence is long overdue, but that fact alone does not make a two-hour hangover like ""The Upside of Anger"" a quality movie by any means.
