Hide the dirty laundry, Dad's at the door
Robert De Niro and Drew Barrymore working through family issues.
(Miramax Films)
Everybody's Fine
Running time: 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R (profanity, thematic elements)
On the Web
Everybody's not fine in the holiday family trauma-drama "Everybody's Fine."
From recently widowed family patriarch Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) on down to four adult children, everybody's pretty much a mess.
A remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's 1990 Italian original "Stanno Tutti Bene," the Americanized "Everybody's Fine" provides a solid tug on the heartstrings.
Director Kirk Jones, the UK native who wowed the indie film world with the jaunty dark comedy "Waking Ned Devine" in 1998, knows his way around handling American movie stars as well. This is the best De Niro has been in years, and the same can be said for Drew Barrymore, who plays youngest daughter Rosie.
Frank, who spent his working life in a telephone wire factory, let his wife deal with the kids. As it turns out, dear-departed Jean didn't exactly share all the news about David (Austin Lysy) the artist, Amy (Kate Beckinsale) the ad exec, Robert (Sam Rockwell) the "orchestra conductor" and Rosie (Barrymore) the Las Vegas dancer.
When all the kids cancel a family weekend visit, Frank -- against doctor's orders -- hits the road. The idea is to surprise each of them, and show them the old man is finally ready to share valuable family time.
You may have guessed by now that everything's not going to be peachy on this journey that begins in New York, continues on to Chicago, hops over to Denver and culminates in Vegas.
De Niro, an acting legend with two Oscars on his mantel, is at that point in a long career where he could just go through the motions. In fact, I think he phoned it in a little last year opposite Al Pacino in "Righteous Kill."
That's not the case here. De Niro plays the constantly bewildered or disappointed ultimate empty nester with nuance and style. The screenplay, also by director Jones, gets a little heavy-handed at times showing the adult children approach Frank as he remembers them as children.
De Niro pulls it off every time, however. It's as if he's on a journey to reconnect with his own kids. Of the screen "kids," Barrymore (who recently directed and appeared in the roller-skating romantic-drama "Whip It") and Rockwell ("Moon") get under the skin of their characters the best.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that "sanitized" usually accompanies "Americanized" from this aisle seat. That's the case here, so I personally prefer the Italian original.
If you're not a fan of subtitles or, for that matter much subtlety, this holiday heart-tugger will suffice just, you know, fine.
From recently widowed family patriarch Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) on down to four adult children, everybody's pretty much a mess.
A remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's 1990 Italian original "Stanno Tutti Bene," the Americanized "Everybody's Fine" provides a solid tug on the heartstrings.
Director Kirk Jones, the UK native who wowed the indie film world with the jaunty dark comedy "Waking Ned Devine" in 1998, knows his way around handling American movie stars as well. This is the best De Niro has been in years, and the same can be said for Drew Barrymore, who plays youngest daughter Rosie.
Frank, who spent his working life in a telephone wire factory, let his wife deal with the kids. As it turns out, dear-departed Jean didn't exactly share all the news about David (Austin Lysy) the artist, Amy (Kate Beckinsale) the ad exec, Robert (Sam Rockwell) the "orchestra conductor" and Rosie (Barrymore) the Las Vegas dancer.
When all the kids cancel a family weekend visit, Frank -- against doctor's orders -- hits the road. The idea is to surprise each of them, and show them the old man is finally ready to share valuable family time.
You may have guessed by now that everything's not going to be peachy on this journey that begins in New York, continues on to Chicago, hops over to Denver and culminates in Vegas.
De Niro, an acting legend with two Oscars on his mantel, is at that point in a long career where he could just go through the motions. In fact, I think he phoned it in a little last year opposite Al Pacino in "Righteous Kill."
That's not the case here. De Niro plays the constantly bewildered or disappointed ultimate empty nester with nuance and style. The screenplay, also by director Jones, gets a little heavy-handed at times showing the adult children approach Frank as he remembers them as children.
De Niro pulls it off every time, however. It's as if he's on a journey to reconnect with his own kids. Of the screen "kids," Barrymore (who recently directed and appeared in the roller-skating romantic-drama "Whip It") and Rockwell ("Moon") get under the skin of their characters the best.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that "sanitized" usually accompanies "Americanized" from this aisle seat. That's the case here, so I personally prefer the Italian original.
If you're not a fan of subtitles or, for that matter much subtlety, this holiday heart-tugger will suffice just, you know, fine.
Take a hankie.
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