The Upside of Anger (2005)

The romantic comedy-drama film The Upside of Anger (2005), written and directed by Mike Binder, opens with Terry Wolfmeyer, her four daughters, and their friend Denny Davies attending a funeral. However, the story quickly flashes back to three years earlier when Terry’s heavily intoxicated confession to her daughters revealed that their father, Grey, had left the family for his secretary in Sweden. Terry turns to alcohol to deal with her anger and heartbreak, causing her daughters to resent her. She finds solace in her neighbor Denny, a retired baseball player and fellow heavy drinker who hosts a radio talk show. As they grow closer, their relationship becomes increasingly intimate.

Eager to lend a hand, Denny helps Andy secure a role as a production assistant at his radio station. There she meets Shep, Denny’s producer, who is a questionable character in his 40s. Their relationship sparks disgust and anger from Terry. Meanwhile, high school student Popeye pursues romance with her classmate Gorden, but he confides in her that he is gay. Despite this revelation, they become close friends and bond over their troubled home lives. On the other side of town, Emily clashes with her mother over her career aspirations as a professional ballet dancer instead of attending a traditional university. After much resistance, Emily ultimately gives in and enrolls at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. However, her struggles with an eating disorder lead to hospitalization.