In the Upside of Anger, the ever watchable Joan Allen plays an embittered housewife, Terry Wolfmeyer, who assumes her husband has walked out on her and taken off with his swedish secretary. Kevin Costner plays a neighbour and talk show DJ host Denny who decides he wants to befriend the now single Terry.

The path to true love will of course not be smooth. Terry has four daughters and we see what they are making of their lives too, with dramatic surprises will come later in the film, as Terry has to cope with renewal, love and loss in her life.

Joan Allen is a great actress. Costner of course began well as an actor and then chose some terrible stuff (anyone for Waterworld or The Bodyguard?!). What brings them together here? A story that although amusing, doesn't quite hold up. A hubby off-screen has supposedly run off with his Swedish PA, to Sweden. Has no one heard of aeroplanes or the internet? It seems too fantastic that none of Terry's daughters should want to head to Sweden to track Dad down and talk to him. If they attempted to do that, the story dished up here would come to a rapidly different conclusion.

The story is too far-fetched for words and leaving you feeling short-changed. Allen is reasonable acting-wise in a fairly serious housewifely part. Costner goes for an unflattering drunk as a part which was brave of him even though he's meant to be seen as more likeable as the film drags on. Whilst the sub-plots involving the daughters are mildly entertaining, for the most part they're also inconsequential and stereotypical in the way their stories have been written up. Director Binder even writes himself into the film and gives himself a chance to engage in romance with one of the younger daughters, and if that isn't done purely to satisfy his middle-aged male fantasies and the indulgencies of a director, then I'm not sure what is.