SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: Rozanna Farah Ibram

STUDENT ID NO: 0317967

FILMS SELECTED: Silver Linings Playbook vs Crazy Stupid Love (dramedy)

WORD COUNT: 952

ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: 19TH SEPTEMBER 2014

Dramedy is a genre that depicts comedy as well as drama. For this comparison essay I have chosen to compare and contrast these movies; Silver Linings Playbook (SLP) directed by David O’ Russell and Crazy, Stupid, Love (CSL) by John Requa and Glen Ficarra. SLP is a movie about the life of Pat Solatano Jr. who was discharged by his mother from Maryland mental health institution after his eight months court ordered stint for beating down his wife, Nikki’s lover. Pat who was determined to get his life back on track decides that his best path was to live a healthy lifestyle, think positive, get back his job of being a substitute teacher and getting back together with Nikki. However his path took a turn when he meets the equally disturbed recovering sex addict widower, Tifanny Maxwell. CSL is a movie about Cal Weaver who was living the American dream until one day his wife, Emily asked for a divorce. From then on Cal moved out to live on his own and starts going to bars and whining about his problems when a professional bachelor, Jacob Palmer who frequents the bar became annoyed by his whining took pity and decides to help Cal into becoming a confident playboy. The main comparison highlighted between these movies will be the sense of humor used, relationship between the family members, character development and finally the issue of infidelity.

Firstly, the sense of humor used in Silver Linings Playbook is dark while Crazy, Stupid, Love uses a more light hearted comedic. SLP is more on dark sense of humor because the issues involved are tragedies such as the death of Tiffany’s husband turned her into a promiscuous woman. Besides that there is also the issue of Pat getting into the mental institution. In CSL the humor is light hearted such as the innocent love of Cal’s son, Robbie with their nanny, Jessica. Furthermore is the hilarious relationship between Hannah and Jacob which started as a fail attempt from Jacob to woo Hannah from the bar. The contrast between the senses of humor used is because of SLP intended audience is above the age of eighteen while CSL is a family movie.

Next is the relationship between the family members in both movies. In SLP, Pat’s father favors his older son more as he is the more successful one. In addition, Pat Sr. acts mean towards Pat and treats him harshly. However, Pat’s relationship with his mother is better as his mother discharged him from the institution without his father’s knowledge. Pat’s parents was however still a loving one as they took Pat back into their house after getting into such trouble. Pat’s relationship with his brother was sour as well. His brother feels more inferior to Pat due to his successes. In CSL, Cal’s relationship with his children is on good terms as they are a close knitted family. Cal is especially attached to his oldest daughter Hannah who he refused to have any kind of relationship with Jacob because he knows of Jacob’s lifestyle and was afraid he was going to hurt Hannah’s feelings.

Another comparison between the movies is the character development. From SLP, when Pat was trialed for harassing Nikki’s lover he was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After he was dispatched he was determined and positive he could get back together with his ex-wife. However after meeting Tiffany and as their relationship evolves, both parties developed feelings for each other which initially they refused to have. In the end of the movie, Pat realized he could move on from obsessing over his ex-wife as well as Tiffany getting over the death of her husband. They found love after deciding they were only using each other for their own benefits. In CSL Cal was having a breakdown after being separated from his wife. However after meeting Jacob, a makeover and lessons on picking up women he slowly got back his self confidence. Despite Jacob was assisting Cal in his issues, when he met Hannah he decided that the playboy life wasn’t for him anymore and to prove to Cal he was worthy of Hannah he became her loyal boyfriend and took care of her. After getting back his self confidence, Cal also realized he could not live without his wife Emily and decides

to get her back. Therefore in both movies both main and supporting characters evolved and improved their lives for the better.

Lastly the comparison between the two movies is the issues of infidelity. In SLP, Pat’s wife Nikki was having an affair with another teacher from the school she was teaching at. Pat caught them together in the bathroom after going home early from work; this was when Pat lost control and starts pounding the man that left him to eight months in the institution. Other than that, was the case of Tiffany who brokenhearted after her husband’s sudden death, began to develop an addiction for sex and had affairs with the men and women in her workplace. She was then fired. In CSL, Cal’s wife was distraught by her feelings with her colleague, David Lindhagen that she asked Cal for a divorce, thinking she could not be happy anymore being married to him. Furthermore, is Jacob’s lifestyle of bringing home different women from the bar every time. Which the skills he passed down to Cal.

In conclusion, the SLP plays more on adult issues and problems while in CSL the portrayal of adult issues and problem are lighter hearted to suit the family audience. The comparison and contrast between the two movies are the dark and light humor, the domestic issues, character improvement and finally the issues of adultery.