Everybody's Fine (2009)

This is a slow moving comedy, that tries to be both funny and dramatic at the same time, and manages to convey neither overly successfully.It gets bogged down by too many slow scenes, and drips with sentimentality at times.It's hard to work out whether De Niro is underreacting to everything as an acting choice or whether he's just bored by the material he's being asked to deliver.Things perk up a little bit once Drew Barrymore (always lovely) and Sam Rockwell (always reliable) pop up, but they can't save a film that's going nowhere.

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.

In 2009's "Everybody's Fine" Robert De Niro plays a widower who is down because his four kids all canceled on coming home for Thanksgiving, so he decides to go see each one instead (Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore respectively). This entails traveling all over the country over the next week or so.I don't get all the positive ratings on this one. Sure, it's well made, has a great cast and makes a good point, but it's just humdrum from beginning to end. Maybe the story works better for those who can relate to De Niro's character, but for everyone else this is a really slow and boring road movie. Being boring is the ultimate sin in cinema.If you want to see Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale in an outstanding drama be sure to check out 2007's "Snow Angels." GRADE: C