(When one door closes, another opens. And a drunk and lovable ex-baseball player who looks eerily like Kevin Costner stumbles through…)
CAST: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Alicia Witt, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, Mike Binder.
DIRECTOR: Mike Binder
WARNING: SPOILERS and out-of-control estrogen right up ahead…
I just love it when actors turn up in quirky fare that you never would’ve thought they’d be part of. Such is the case of THE UPSIDE OF ANGER.
I’m not referring to Joan Allen who, while delivering a powerhouse performance as angry jilted wife Terry Wolfmeyer, seems at home with this kind of slice-of-life fare. Nor am I referring to Alicia Witt, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, and Erika Christensen - who all play Terry’s daughters.
Nope, I’m referring to Sir Kevin Costner, who was once the Crown Prince of Hollywood, and is the genius who brought us and/or starred in some very good to excellent films: FANDANGO, SILVERADO, AMERICAN FLYERS, NO WAY OUT, BULL DURHAM, DANCES WITH WOLVES, FIELD OF DREAMS, TIN CUP, MR. BROOKS, and SWING VOTE. While he has starred in low-key fare like THE WAR, Mr. Costner is better known for higher-profile projects with him as the unquestioned lead. In THE UPSIDE OF ANGER, he’s not the lead. Instead, he plays a very gracious (and funny) second fiddle. And it’s one of his best performances ever.
Terry Wolfmeyer is a well-to-do Detroit housewife who has issues: (1) her husband Grey has up and run out on her with his Swedish secretary, (2) she’s stuck with four daughters who aren’t exactly thrilled that pops has upped and run out on them, and (3) she’s understandably pissed. Very pissed. Evidently, Terry had recently learned of Grey’s affair with “Danke Schein” (as she refers to the Nordic office tramp), and so when Grey fails to return home one day, she automatically assumes that he just absconded with D.S. and ran out on his family. Refusing to beg for him to come back, Terry puts on Ye Olde Stiff Upper Lip and breaks the news to her daughters and tells them that life is going to be very, very different from now on.
The girls, naturally, take this like the bombshell that it is. Eldest daughter Hadley (Alicia Witt) is the one who gets over it the quickest. Easy to do when you’re a bitchy pill whose already moved out of the house to go to college. Andy (Erika Christensen) is upset by the news and promptly decides to deal with it by having an affair later with local radio station manager Shep Goodman (the film’s director, Mike Binder, doing double duty as slimeball, too) which is kind of fucked-up when you think about it. Ballet aspirant Emily (Keri Russell) is already dealing with eating issues and desperate to court her mother’s approval, so her dad’s abrupt departure is like tossing dynamite on a bonfire.
Last, but not the least, is Popeye (Evan Rachel Wood) who narrates the story and observes the events with the detached eye of a future tabloid writer. And don’t ask me why she’s called Popeye, because not once do I see her eat any goddamn spinach. And her chin's not that huge. And she ain't bald. So, WTF?
Where’s Mr. Costner in all of this, you ask? Well, I’m getting to that. Kevin plays Denny Davies, a washed up baseball player who works for Shep and has a radio sports show - and is a friend to the Wolfmeyers. He also supplements his income by signing baseballs and selling them at conventions and, I guess, E-bay. The interesting thing about Denny is that he actually is not one of those guys who's trying to relive his past glories. If anything, he can’t wait to bury the fuckers, but his fans insist on keeping them above ground. In other words, Denny is stuck. He wants to move forward, but he can’t. And he’s a drunk. Which might be because he’d like to have something more meaningful than the baseball memories of old - but can’t find it. Kind of like an endless hunger or an itch you can’t scratch.
At any rate, Denny decides that being a friend to Terry and her girls in this strange time is that meaningful thing he’s been looking for. Terry doesn’t necessarily thinks this is a great thing, and basically treats Denny like an annoying golden retriever puppy who just won’t leave you alone. And she’s not afraid to kick. It’s a testament to Denny’s patience that he suffers these verbal assaults in silence and just responds with a goofy smile. Any other man would’ve drop-kicked Terry across Lake Michigan.
THE UPSIDE OF ANGER traces the next couple of years as Terry tries to rebuild her family without trying to initiate contact with Grey - whom she is sure is basically starting a new family in Sweden with his new whore. Several interesting things happen during this time: (1) Hadley gets married and has a kid, (2) Andy embarks on the aforementioned sleazy affair with Shep, (3) Emily starves herself to the point of passing out and being hospitalized, (4) Popeye strikes up a friendship with a gay teen (Dean Christensen) who she wants to - ha ha - “cure”, (5) and a romance develops between Denny and Terry - with the former practically moving in and turning into a pillar of support and healing force for the crazy bitches of the Wolfmeyer Clan. That he can put up with not only one but five banshees is further proof that this guy should be sainted. Basically, though, everyone’s happy and relatively content. Which all changes one day when a construction crew developing property behind the Wolfmeyer house uncover a well - and discover’s a man’s decaying corpse at the bottom. They fish out his wallet and discover that the man was…. Grey Wolfmeyer.
Now, in another universe this would turn into a thriller in which Terry would be suspected of Grey’s death and Denny and the girls would fight to prove her innocence. Thankfully, though, the movie treats this revelation as more of a catharsis - and everyone accepts that Grey must have been walking around the property and fell through the well (like a dumbass) to his death. So, in other words, he never ran off with Danke Schein and sired four more irritating daughters. With this very big loose end tied up, Denny and the Wolfmeyer broads live happily ever after.
At least until Denny realizes that there are nicer women out there and life is just too damn short.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Joan Allen and Kevin Costner make this movie. In the hands of less gifted performers, this might have been a tedious slog. Instead, they generate some serious chemistry that anchors the film and gives it a solid center. The actresses playing the Wolfmeyer daughters are all stellar and complement not only the leads, but each other, as well. As with Costner and Allen, they are well cast and make the roles their own. They’re all aided by a sharp script by director and actor Mike Binder. And when that ending comes along, it’s a heartbreaker - but also a liberating one, somehow. In the end, what the story tries to tell us is that “anger” is basically a waste of time and in the end, doesn’t really have an upside. This ironic twist shows that all that energy and turmoil that Terry suffered through wasn’t necessary, but at the same time, unavoidable.
One quibble: I find it hard to believe that the women wouldn't have realized sooner that Grey wasn't in Sweden. It's a testament to how terrific the cast is that this nit-noid doesn't mar the experience. THE UPSIDE OF ANGER is a good flick - and in a perfect world, Kevin Costner and Joan Allen would’ve gotten Academy Awards for it...
