Everybody's Fine

Kirk Jones' Everybody's Fine is a movie that didn't quite click with me, though it's not for lack of trying. The movie obviously has a big heart, the heart is in the right place, and there's a talented and likable cast on display, but something's missing. I think the movie's a bit too soft, and needed a little more edge. The movie wants to be emotional, and maybe hold a mirror up to our own lives and families. It comes close, but it never quite reaches its goal.

A good example of how the movie just doesn't quite work is the lead character, Frank Goode. He's played by Robert De Niro, and it's a fine performance to be sure. But something about the character, the way he's been written, never connected. I think I know why. Frank is retired, and recently lost his wife of over 40 years. We learn that he was never very open, or good with talking with his children. This is supposed to be ironic, since Frank's job was working with telephone wires, which naturally exist to connect people and bring them closer together. So, we get a lot of not-so-subtle shots of telephone lines symbolizing people coming together, or talking. At the beginning of the film, Frank is planning a big family weekend, where all four of his kids will come to visit. It's the first time they've gotten together since his wife's funeral, but Frank is met with disappointment. All of the kids cancel, one of them doesn't even bother to call to tell him. So, despite his failing health, Frank decides to pack his bags, and travel cross country to all of the cities where his kids live (New York, Chicago, Denver, and Las Vegas) and surprise them.

The kids don't seem too happy to see him, although they put on smiles and pretend they are thrilled. Something seems off, a little frosty, about all of Frank's meetings with his children. The first kid he visits in New York isn't even home, while the other three seem to be hiding something. They make up excuses, which Frank can see right through but doesn't say anything, and generally seem to be trying to get rid of him. We learn part of this cold response to Frank's visits have to do with the fact that Frank was a hard father to him. The problem with the screenplay and the character of Frank himself is we don't get a sense of this. Not once during his travels does Frank come across as the man his kids talk about. If he was so cold and distant, why is he so open and friendly to total strangers on the street? He even tries to help out a homeless person at one point, which doesn't turn out too well, but still. Most of the movie actually makes Frank out to be a charmingly befuddled old man. He doesn't know that his suitcase has a pull-out handle, he's comically bad at golf, he's completely mystified when he has to use chopsticks at dinner, etc. These moments are supposed to be cute, but I think the movie would be a little more honest with less attempts to make Frank out to be a cute and kind of out of touch old man, and maybe given him just a tiny bit of edge.

We know that the kids are hiding something else from him. We hear their phone conversations, where they're talking about David, the son who wasn't home when Frank visited his apartment in New York City. They sound worried, and are talking something about Mexico, and maybe David getting arrested. But, they don't want to tell Frank, fear that it will worry him too much. That's also why they're so eager to get rid of him when he shows up, since they're trying to track down their missing brother. The three remaining kids that Frank does see are played by fine actors, but their scenes never quite have the intended emotional impact. His daughter Amy (Kate Beckinsale) is obviously going through a marital crisis, as there's not very subtle anger and tension between her husband and teenage son. Son Robert (Sam Rockwell) plays in an orchestra, but is an underachiever, both on the job and in life. Finally, there's Rosie (Drew Barrymore), a dancer who is looking after a baby she says is a friend's, but Frank suspects might belong to her. There's supposed to be a constant underlying tension during all of these meetings, but the tone of the scenes is too laid back. There's little raw emotion during these scenes, which really would have made them work.

I'm not trying to give the impression that Everybody's Fine is a bad movie. There are a number of scenes that are effective, and as I mentioned, the performances are very strong. The movie just never quite hits the right emotional note. It too often goes for easy schmaltz, instead of honesty. When Frank finally does find out about his son David and what became of him, we get a manipulative scene where he's visited by the image of David as a little boy, and they talk to each other about how the boy grew up to be the way he did. I can understand what writer-director Kirk Jones (Nanny McPhee) is trying to do in this and a lot of other scenes, but the execution is off just a little. This movie needed more realism, and less scenes that seem to be inspired by Hallmark commercials. I was never offended by the movie's soft touch to its characters, but I did keep on thinking what a better movie it would be if it was a little more truthful with itself.

Just like the movie I saw right before it (Brothers), this is a remake of a foreign film - this one from Italy. However, I can't say I have any desire to track down the original this time. Everybody's Fine is the kind of movie you might catch on DVD or TV, and not mind watching. It's sweet and it's well acted, but it's just not very memorable. A little more honesty to go along with the heart would have gone a long way to fixing that.

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