Cast: Robert de Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell; Director: Kirk Jones; Screenplay: Kirk Jones; Story: Giusseppe Tordanatore; Producer: Gianni Nunnari, Glynis Murray, Ted Field, Vittorio Cecchi Gori; Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures; Running Time:95 minutes;; Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Technical Assessment: 3.5
Moral Assessment: 3.5
Rating: For viewers 13 and below with parental guidance
Lonely widower Frank Goode (Robert de Niro) has been busy for days preparing for a weekend get-together with his busy adult children coming from different distant places. But then he receives phone calls from each of them telling him they could no longer make it. Disappointed, Frank, despite his ill health, decides to pack his bags and travel cross-country to surprise his children. He visits first his youngest, David, only to find out that he’s not yet home and no one really know about his whereabouts. Frank then goes to his eldest, Amy (Kate Beckinsale) but he only receives a cold welcome from her. He then heads to Robert’s (Sam Rockwell) place and their meeting turns out strained as well. When he meets his daughter Rosie (Drew Barrymore) in Las Vegas, he discovers all his offspring are hiding something from him – about their lives and about David.
The film veers away from the dark theme of the original Giusseppe Tordanatore’s Stanno Tutti Bene. This remake, Everybody’s Fine, takes the conventional Hollywood route so the theme appears lighter than it’s supposed to be. The premise remains interesting and the entire viewing experience is really touching. De Niro is as usual consistent with his solid acting backed by a strong support cast of Rockwell, Beckinsale and Barrymore. They make a good ensemble as a family disunited and later on reunited. Although the film has the tendency to be overly melodramatic, it is able to avoid monotony and predictability putting in some new elements of dream sequences that turn out both clever and ingenious. The entire flow of emotions is consistent all throughout and the film delivers its message with utmost clarity. The use of the telephone lines as a symbolic transition device has been an effective thread in putting the story’s complicated pieces together.
Frank’s character represents most of the fathers not only in middle class American setting, but the general family set-up as well. Fathers are expected to be good providers so they work hard all their lives just to make sure there’s food on the table and their children would grow up to become the best they can be. The fathers’ time is mostly spent at work and they are rarely seen home. Until it would be too late for fathers to realize they hardly know their children. As in the case of Frank, aside from the fact that he hardly knows them, they are seem distant to him that they’d rather tell lies about what they’ve become so as not to disappoint him. The film has clearly shown the importance of family and of communication in the home. The crucial role that parents, specifically fathers, play in molding their children. Father’s role after all, does not end in being a good provider but only starts there. What’s more essential is the strong emotional foundation he’s going to give to his offspring by finding and making time for them. The mother remains to be at the center of every home. In the film, the mother’s absence is really felt by both the father and the children. After all, it was the mother who has held their family together with her knack for listening. Although every character in the movie seems not to be fine, the end message is hopeful as they make room for forgiveness, acceptance and tolerance. There are only some minor serious issues in the film such as drug use and abuse, divorce and homosexual relationships, although made and justified in context, these may not be suitable for the very young audiences so CINEMA recommends the film for viewers 13 years old and below with parental guidance.
