Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2013

Does every movie involving a potential love match and a few laughs have to be called a romantic comedy? Because this exuberant, satisfying film by David O. Russell, who gave us Flirting with Disaster, I Heart Huckabees and The Fighter, is sooo much more. A mildly bipolar guy just released from a psychiatric facility (a surprisingly effective Bradley Cooper; who knew?) is obsessed with winning back his wife, never mind that pesky restraining order. A young neighborhood widow with a few balance problems of her own (the astounding Jennifer Lawrence) says she can get a letter to his wife, but only if he agrees to be her partner in an important-to-her ballroom dancing competition. Sure sounds like a rom-com. But then it deepens and expands, drawing you in with real suspense as it teeters on the brink of chaos. It’s quite funny, but with an edge. Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver are spot-on as the man’s parents. The film evades predictability as it totters perilously toward an ending that hinges on an Eagles game and a dance contest, and you realize what an all-too-rare combination of acting, character development and direction you’re watching. This one gets it all right.