Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language.
Directed by Kirk Jones
Starring Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell…
Everybody’s not fine… that’s the reality of it. No family is perfect. Some people probably would argue that the more a family appears to be perfect the more likely there are secrets hiding within. The Goode family is no different.
Frank Goode worked every hour that he could to support his family and help them achieve their potential and not surprisingly at 60, he now feels as though time has passed him by and that he has missed his children growing up. Such is Frank’s enthusiasm to turn back time and reconnect with his children that he embarks on a spontaneous, transcontinental journey but soon realizes that when his wife kept him updated on his children’s progress, she protected him from the bad news and exaggerated the good.
The film was both heartwarming and tear-jerking. De Niro’s portrayal of the quirky Frank Goode had me glued to the screen from the first moment. (I kept hitting my wife and saying, “That’s just like your dad!”)
It’s hard to explain why this film was good. Think of dialogue-driven films like As Good as It Gets or Spanglish. (okay, those are both James L. Brooks films… that’s just a coincidence… or is it?) Those films both offered us a glimpse into the lives of the quirky and imperfect people our country is made up of. Everybody’s Fine provides a similar peek, but this time, life after the kids have left home from the dysfunctional American family.
I didn’t agree with the lifestyles all the characters had chosen, but such are the lives of the people we meet. And the film wasn’t preachy in any way.
After watching the film, I discovered that it was a remake of Giuseppe Tornatore original in 1990, a follow up project to the Oscar-winning classic Cinema Paradiso (which is an amazing film). This 2009 version of Everybody’s Fine has sweet tastes of Tornatore and his beautiful story-telling style.
Everybody’s Fine also spurred me to think about how I was raising my own family. It became quickly obvious that De Niro’s character had been a little too hard raising one of his sons. As my wife and I walked out of the theatre I reflected on my own parenting with my son Alec. I asked Lori, “Am I too hard on Alec?” (Sorry, you don’t get to hear her answer!)
This film is truly touching.
Catch it in the theatre! You won’t be disappointed.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
It’s clean enough… but they’d be bored. Mature high school students might enjoy it.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
