"The Upside of Anger" makes a strong case that one of the few roles — perhaps the only role — Kevin Costner can play convincingly these days is a washed-up athlete.
Costner is funny and charismatic as Denny Daniels, a former professional baseball star-turned-disc jockey. In fact, his performance in this comedy-drama reminds you how and why he became such a huge star in the first place.
"The Upside of Anger" isn't a Costner one-man show, however. The always sterling Joan Allen manages to one-up him with the kind of effective performance you hope Oscar voters won't forget next year.
Allen stars as Terry Wolfmeyer, a suburban Detroit housewife filled with contempt for her husband, who's apparently run off to Europe with his secretary. That's left Terry to fend for herself and for their four daughters — college student Hadley (Alicia Witt), would-be broadcaster Andy (Erika Christensen), aspiring dancer Emily (Keri Russell) and high school student Lavender, or "Popeye" (Evan Rachel Wood, who also narrates).
Terry is also getting support of sorts from her neighbor, Denny, who's more than happy to have her become his new drinking buddy. Eventually, with his help, this "broken" family is able to overcome various crises that involve all of the girls.
The film is funny and touching in all the right places. And even the somewhat unconvincing final third (there's a particularly clunky ending) can't detract from the fine performances.
Allen may be the stand-out, but the others do hold their own. She and Costner have terrific chemistry, and each of the four actresses playing Terry's daughters are strong (in particular, Wood continues to impress).
Another surprise is that this material comes from screenwriter-director Mike Binder, whose previous films and TV shows haven't exactly been sensitive to female characters.
Here, each character has depth, and the relationship dynamics are complex and believable.
"The Upside of Anger" is rated R for occasional use of strong sexual profanity, drug content (pot smoking and references), some crude sexual talk, brief sexual contact, violence (including a bungee-jumping accident, done for laughs), and some brief gore. Running time: 118 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com