Frank Goode lives by himself in Elmira, NY, a recent widower with heart problems, retired from a factory job, proud of having pushed his adult children toward success. When his four children call him and tell him they’re not going to visit him for the upcoming holiday as they usually do, he senses that it’s because their mother who they were closer with, is no longer around. Against his doctor’s advice, he sets out to see his artist son David in New York City, his daughter Amy who is an ad executive in Chicago, his son Robert who is a conductor on tour and currently in Denver, and his daughter Rosie who’s a performer in Las Vegas. None of them turned out as he imagined or hoped. Will he see them for who they are and adapt?
Both the critics and the audience hated this movie. The critic score stands at just 48% and the audience score stands at just 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. It has a 7,1/10* on IMDB, though, which is good, but in my opinion still too low for this movie and I’ll give you my reasons why. First of all, the cast for Robert De Niro’s four children in this movie, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Austin Lysy and their younger selves played by Chandler Frantz, Lily Mo Sheen, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick and Mackenzie Milone. Second of all, this is the best Robert DeNiro has been in years. His acting carries this very simple and heartfelt story along so well. This movie is also paced very well. I was never bored, it always kept me interested. All in all, this is a wonderful movie featuring a strong performance by Robert DeNiro. Why doesn’t he do good movies anymore? It seems like all he does recently are disposable R-rated comedies that you immediately forget about after watching. It’s great to see him in a good movie for a change.
As for issues in this movie, I can’t really think of any. This is one of those movie where I really don’t understand the hate it got from both critics and audiences. An underrated and also a very overlooked movie. It failed at the box office as well because it lost $4,5 million on its $21 million budget. I don’t know how to rate this movie. I really don’t. I had some issues, but they were so minor that they’re not even worth mentioning/wouldn’t affect my grade. 10/10* would also be too high for this movie. 8/10* might just be slightly too low but more realistic. 9/10* would be slightly high as well. I’d say 8,5/10* suits it best for me. I highly recommend you check this movie out. I don’t think it gets as much credit as it deserves.
Director: Kirk Jones
Written by: Kirk Jones, Giuseppe Tornatore, Tonino,Massimo De Rita
Starring: Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Austin Lysy
Runtime: 99 minutes
