Mike Binder’s “The Upside of Anger” is a testament to the wiriness of Joan Allen and the malleability of Kevin Costner.
Though it’s a blend of romantic comedy and domestic drama that occasionally gets lumpy, “Upside” ($27.95) at least tackles suburban unease with a sense of spirit and is helped by its leads’ performances. Allen is Terry Wolf- meyer, the angry middle-aged mother of four almost-grown daughters whose unease comes from her husband having left her high and dry with the parenting duties.
Living near her Michigan home is Costner’s Denny Davies, a former pro baseball player of note who is living off his past glory selling his autographs, hosting a radio talk show and drinking a lot of beer as he drifts into aimlessness.
Terry is drinking too, just trying to cope with the girls, played by Evan Rachel Wood, Erika Christensen, Keri Russell and Alicia Witt. What Denny sees in Terry is purpose and substance – a challenge that he hasn’t had since his retirement. Terry at first sees only another childish man.
An uneasy truce and then a relationship develops as Terry begins to bend – the tall, thin Allen says volumes with her body language – and Denny, bloated in his post-baseball life, begins to show some of the grace and muscle in his character that once made him a successful athlete. It’s a transition that Costner does with an engaging ease.
While Binder’s film is manipulative at times, it captures some of the complexities and absurdities of middle-age relationships, often born of mistrust and fear. Denny and Terry appear unsuited for each other – no Romeo and Juliet – yet they manage not just to agree on a middle ground but to find a way beyond it. As messy as love is, it requires thinking outside the box and a few laughs, Binder seems to be saying.
And “The Upside of Anger” delivers its own laughs, a few tears and two very lovely performances.
“Sith” coming Nov. 1
The Force will be complete – at least for now.
“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” this year’s box-office giant, will be released on DVD Nov. 1.
The two-disc “Sith” set will include a new full-length documentary, two new featurettes – one exploring the Anakin Skywalker prophecy, the other providing a look at the movie’s stunts – and a 15-part collection of “Web documentaries.” Also coming out that day is the “Star Wars Battlefront II” video game.
Once “Sith” has had its DVD run, expect various box sets to follow. At least, that’s my prophecy.
NEW ON DVD
Guess Who ** 1/2 More sweet than sidesplitting, this update of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” stars Bernie Mac in the Spencer Tracy role as a disapproving dad and Ashton Kutcher as his future son-in-law (a part owned by Sidney Poi- tier). The weekend her parents (Mac and Judith Scott) are set to renew their vows, Theresa Jones (Zoë Saldaña) surprises them with boyfriend Simon. In an interracial comedy it’s all about the chemistry, and Mac and Kutcher as Percy Jones and Simon Green make an endearing pair. In the end, “Guess Who” wants to be more about love than race. PG-13; 105 minutes (Lisa Kennedy)
Alexander ** Visually bold yet persistently tepid, Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” doesn’t make a convincing argument for its extravagant resources. Worse, the script and Colin Farrell’s performance leave unanswered what made Alexander so great. Recounting the story of the warrior king, Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins) attempts to reconcile myth with reality. But Ptolemy’s difficulty in teasing the hype from the history isn’t helped by Alexander’s upbringing. For all the film’s bravura battle sequences, its most fundamental conflict is that of Alexander’s parents over their son. Angelina Jolie plays overbearing mom to Val Kilmer’s neglectful father. R; 175 minutes (Lisa Kennedy)
XXX: State of the Union * 1/2 Early in this fast, furious but essentially empty sequel to “XXX,” National Security Agency agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) realizes that he and members of his former military unit are targets in a series of attacks. Vin Diesel’s Xander Cage is no longer. Gibbons needs a new XXX – one “with more attitude.” Cue the rap music. Visit a prison. The new one, played by the often personable performer Ice Cube – well, he sure can scowl. In “State of the Union” there’s a lot for former Navy SEAL Darius Stone to glower about once he’s sprung from a military prison by Gibbons. The president’s secretary of defense is well aware of an impending coup. PG-13; 101 minutes (Lisa Kennedy)
