Every now and again a movie comes along masquerading as a romantic comedy but is actually a Trojan horse to bring other issues that go much deeper than boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl spend the rest of their lives together. In November 2012, Silver Linings Playbook, written and directed by David O. Russell and starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, became one of those movies with its mix of comedy and drama that tackled grief, mental illness, and complicated family relationships.
In partnership with Plex, where Silver Linings Playbook is streaming for free throughout the month of August, we have put together a collection of behind-the-scenes facts that go into how Matthew Quick’s novel became one of the most talked about movies of the past decade, what it was like during production, and how David O. Russell pulled from his own life to tell the film’s story. Here are some of those interesting stories from the making of Silver Linings Playbook.