Everybody's Fine (2009)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

To me, this movie is perfection.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

I really enjoyed this film, as depressing as it was. I was already soaked with tears 30 minutes in, possibly exacerbated by the fact that my family is 7500km away. The character choices were great, and the reality of the family relationships made it very relatable. Parents and kids relationships change when the children become adults, and shifting loyalties cause strains in those relationships that were previously well-defined. It does annoy me when people act as if our elders are already part of history, like they're not still alive and there to enjoy and share with. Movies like this make me hope that they can be catalysts for change. That's all I can write now, because I want to Skype with my family... that's what this movie did to me.

Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) is newly widowed, and eagerly waits for his grown children to return for a gathering. However everybody cancels on him. So he decides to go all over the country to visit each one. When he visits David in NY, nobody's home. His other three kids Amy (Kate Beckinsale), Robert (Sam Rockwell), and Rosie (Drew Barrymore) all know that David is in trouble with drugs in Mexico. But none of them are willing to tell him any bad news in any of their lives. It is a family dysfunction where the mother was the one who listened while Frank dismissed.This is a sad little indie. De Niro isn't using all of his power. He's leaving a lot of things unsaid. So does everybody else. I do wish that he play a tougher character. It would be more compelling. However I do understand that writer/director Kirk Jones is making a certain type of character. He's not a bad father. He's just a little more closed off.In many ways, this character suffers from being too regular. He's not bombastic, or truly meek. He's just an old fashion guy who always asking "Are you Happy?" Inevitably, the only answer that can come back is "Everybody's Fine."

I recently saw this film after years of hearing about it or seeing it on store shelves. Surprisingly, De Niro was not the reason I saw this film, but the relation it had to Paul McCartney's input with the song "(I want to) Come Home". It's not the best reason to watch a movie I know, but I'm not one for a hokey "learning about ourselves" premise. That being said, I was taken by how well written the film really was. I was expecting something tired and slow, but it turned out to be quite "SNAPPAY" in its dialogue. I also liked how its a story that shows why the "American Dream" can not only be daunting for parents and children, but also toxic for relationships. My biggest shock was the man of the hour himself, Robert "Double Oscar, second coming of Vito and professional volleyball filler" De Niro. I thought........he was kind of bland. (SHOCK AND AWE!! SNAPPAY!) I really respect you Bob, I think your an extremely talented and actually pretty funny actor, but this film felt a little off to me. It felt like he was being one of his gangster roles while speaking to a homeless man on a subway (Not the sandwich shop, no one gets mentioned till I get paid), but became as soft as he was in "Awakenings" while speaking to his grandson or a baby he is forced to look after. He was good, but not the best he has been. That goes for the film as well, along with its supporting cast. While Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale (and the rest!) dish out good performances, that's all you can really say about them, good. The film and actors are not AMAZING, but they leave you all warm, fuzzy, and feelin' fine.The film isn't a masterpiece, but its not even close to bad. Its a movie that you can watch without thinking too hard, but don't turn your mind off completely, there may be something you can relate to.BONUS DISC!!!!!!!: One last thing for all you freedom fighters out there. There is an interesting nugget in the special features with Paul McCartney and the making of the song "(I want to) Come Home". If you like Paul and his work, that will be worth at least a rent. While you have it though, watch the film, you may be pleasantly surprised.

"Everybody's Fine" should instead be called "Everybody's in Denial"(or maybe just Robert Deniro's character). I bought this at a thrift store, and it was not worth the money even at that low price. I bought this mainly because Kate Beckinsale is in it, but I also like Robert Deniro. I was expecting something lighthearted, but this was one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen. The back cover promises that you will "laugh and cry". I certainly didn't laugh. What little attempts at humor are in this are not at all funny. I didn't literally cry, but I sure felt worse for watching it. Maybe it was expecting something similar to Deniro's character in the "Meet the Parents" series, but all I got was a sad depressed old man. Not that Deniro's acting(or anyone else's) was bad in this movie, the story was just huge downer. It's about a guy after his wive dies, and his children practically never talk to him. They would talk to their mother more, and now that she's gone they rarely if ever call their dad. The idea that children talk to their mother more is believable, but now they have HUGE things going on in their lives that they don't even bother to mention to their dad. They even go way out of their way to deceive him when he goes to visit. Can a family really be like this? It just doesn't seem believable.