Pat
(Bradley Cooper) is released from a mental institution under the condition that
he would continue taking his medication, attend therapy, and respect the
restraining order his wife filed against him. His parents, Patrizio (Robert de
Niro) and Dolores (Jacki Weaver), suggest that he move on and forget about his
wife who has left him for good, but he insists on getting into shape and
reading all the books in her English class curriculum in hopes that they could
eventually get back together. Enter Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence), the young
widow of a police officer, who turns to her sex addiction to cope with her
husband’s recent death. They do not immediately click on their first meeting,
although a potential is seen after they get along discussing the different medications
they are taking. He believes that through being constantly positive, one would
be able to see the silver lining in anything, hence the forced positivist
outlook. She, on the other hand, veers towards the negative. They find common
ground when she promises to deliver his letters to his wife, in exchange for
him being her dance partner in an annual event that she has always wanted to
participate in.