Film Analysis: Silver Linings Playbook

Throughout the course of one’s life, there is a constant search for some form of happiness. We may not always realize we are on the quest for it, but it’s part of human nature.

In “Silver Linings Playbook” we see this happen throughout with Pat and Tiffany, who are both searching for happiness. The film is relatable to us all in that many times we go looking for happiness only to come up empty-handed. When we least expect happiness, is when it discovers us. We find happiness in the form of positivity, family, friendships, and the pursuit of dreams to just name a few and these are some of the ways we see it in this film. Everyone has their own idea about what makes someone happy. The fact is just having a positive attitude can accomplish that.

Pat has a goal to woo back Nikki, that he thinks will lead to his happiness with the two reuniting. While Pat is out jogging, he runs into his friend Ronnie and his wife Veronica, who invite him to dinner. Pat meets Tiffany Maxwell, Veronica’s sister at the dinner. Tiffany, like Pat, has her own share of mental issues due to the death of her husband. Tiffany asks Pat to walk her home. Pat asks Tiffany to give Nikki a letter. She and her sister are friends of Nikki’s, so she agrees. Pat is so excited about the thought of reconciliation with Nikki. This is pure fantasy on Pat’s part, since Nikki has had an affair, has a restraining order against him and has not tried to contact him in any way. In “Pig Happiness” by Lynne McFall, she writes about the five examples of “inferior lifestyles” that society would say these standards are a lesser quality of life. “The deluded fool” is one of those examples and describes Pat’s belief about Nikki and himself (411). He wants to find happiness so much with her that he thinks he can make it happen. This delusion does bring him a form of happiness because in his mind he thinks he can make it work out with Nikki, which is his motivation to take care of

Tiffany, who has been in search of her own happiness after the death of her husband, became very promiscuous and tried different prescription drugs to help with her mental health. “In Pursuit of Happiness” by Mark Kingwell, he illustrates this. “The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness, agreed twentieth-century essayist Eric Hoffer, while novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne famously compared happiness to a butterfly which, if pursued, always eludes your grasp, but which if you sit quietly, may just land upon you.” (414.) Tiffany has wanted to participate in a dance competition for years, but her husband would never dance with her. She realizes she can have a chance at this, so she demands that if Pat wants her to deliver the letter to Nikki he must dance with her. Pat reluctantly agrees to her terms. After a few practices, the two have formed a bond. She tells Pat she has given Nikki the letter and in return, Nikki has sent one back for Pat. He holds on to this hope for reconciliation with Nikki. Tiffany hopes that she will find some form of happiness in the dance competition in the pursuit of following her dream since all the other ways she has gone about it up until this point have led her to