User reviews

Based on Guiseppe Tornatore's 1990 Italian film, Stanno tutti bene, writer/director Kirk Jones has brought some of the best work out of Robert DeNiro in decades. Everybody's Fine is a fascinating tale about Frank (DeNiro), a widower who wants to get his four adult children together for dinner, but when one by one they all cancel for good reasons or lack of a better word excuses, he decides against the advice of his doctor, to make a surprise trip to all their residences in New York, Chicago, Denver, and Las Vegas. What the trip brings him however, is a heavy realization that despite what his late-wife told him, maybe everybody's not fine.

Treading heavy territory to resemble films like About Schmidt, Everybody's Fine is a heartfelt, emotional film that will leave you in tears. Though the narrative could come off a bit over-dramatic at times, there's no denying the warmth that the film conveys to family and loyalty. DeNiro is most effective in his role of Frank Goode, the hard-working father whose long hours putting up coating on telephone wire may have cost him more than he thought. Director, Kirk Jones makes some great artistic choices, especially in the final scenes of the film. One thing however that is surprising is how the film is being marketed. Portraying itself as a holiday-comedy is going to be quite unexpected to viewers as the film is weighty with emotion and less on the laughs.

The supporting players, in this case the adult children, are all beautifully cast. Drew Barrymore has never been sweeter in the role of Rosie, a dancer in Vegas with a "Daddy's Girl" mentality. Kate Beckinsale is stunning in looks and adequate in delivery as Amy, a top advertisement executive. Sam Rockwell, who is long overdue for Oscar attention, plays Robert, the musician who painfully seeks his father's approval.

Enough can't be said about DeNiro who gives one of his finest performances of his career. Showing a softer side yet remaining in tuned with his fatherly instincts, DeNiro has redeemed some of his lesser works in the past years. He takes in some of the best and worst parts of all fathers' across the world. Worrying yet too hard at times it spills over into his children's decisions. Where the narrative misses in some aspects, DeNiro makes up for with his devotion and commitment to the character. It's an outstanding turn for him in his late career.

Over-dramatic, cliché, and a bit predictable, Everybody's Fine shows a beating heart. There's no stupidity or attitude in its form, just pure feeling. If you come from a family of secrets for the greater good (which may be the majority of us), this will speak volumes.

***/****

I wasn't planning on seeing this movie until I read some of the other IMDb reviews--then I reconsidered because one of the reviewers said it would be more meaningful to older folks with adult children. Glad I did. It's a little gem. It's more like a European film really, where nothing much happens (action-wise) but the characters are so well-drawn. Or, to put it another way, it's like reading a novel by Anne Tyler. I did think of ABOUT SCHMIDT during this movie--similar theme of a recent widower on a road-trip of self-discovery--but only to reflect on DeNiro's more subtle characterization. The movie is very well cast as a whole and all the acting, particularly from the child actors, is very natural and unaffected.

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/director Kirk Jones just needs to work a little more frequently. His first two projects were the fascinating Waking Ned Devine and the deeper than expected Nanny McPhee. The guy has some real talent and unique insight. He is also wise enough to cast Robert Deniro and then bring out his best performance in years.

Sure, there are some similarities to Nicholson's wonderful turn in About Schmidt, but contrary to the trailers, this one is no light-hearted holiday fluff. There are deep emotions and more real-life family baggage than most will care to admit (translated, there were quite a few sniffles in the theatre).

Deniro's kids are scattered about leading their own lives after a childhood of pressure, demands and expectations. The differences in how each have handled it is very interesting. Drew Barrymore wants very much to be the daddy's girl, while Kate Beckinsale is the corporate type-A who just can't manage her family. The always excellent Sam Rockwell is the music prodigy enjoying his stress-free live as a symphonic percussionist (instead of a conductor). The youngest is a troubling story line that ends up tying everything together for the Deniro character, as well as the family.

Aside from the mostly atrocious music, this one is an emotional tug-fest that will stimulate a bit of self-analysis from all parents.

I saw this movie last night in a crowded theatre with persons of varying ages. At the conclusion of the film, I noticed smiles and tears in the eyes of the older viewers and some boredom and rush to leave in the younger ones. This is a movie for parents and will probably not appeal much to the under 25 set.

That said, this is a beautiful, heart-felt, and sometimes painful story of a father recognizing and coming to grips with the reality of his parenting and his lack of control over his children's lives. It is about truth and how we try to spare others pain or discomfort. It is about how many parents still see their grown up children as small children who we are responsible for.

While the supporting cast turn in good performances, this is Robert DeNiro's movie. It is his best performance since Awakenings (he deserved that Oscar, and not just the nomination).

I suspect that this film will get a lot of nominations, but don't think it will win many awards. I base that on the idea that they younger voters have not yet been in the shoes of the older ones and will not be fully able to appreciate the character or his growth and understanding.

Everybody's Fine (2009)

*** (out of 4)

Robert DeNiro plays a widower who grows tired of his four children making excuses for not coming to see him so he disregards his doctor's orders and takes a trip to visit all four. Along the way he starts to think about their childhood and where their lives are at now. I remember when THIS BOYS LIFE was released it featured a trailer that would make you think you were walking into one of the greatest family films ever made even though the actual film was a dark one about child abuse. I mention that because this film is pretty much the same effect as the poster, TV ads and trailer makes you think that you're in for a good time but the film is actually an incredibly depressing affair but it finally gives star DeNiro a true character and he does great work with it. Now, I'm not one of those who thinks DeNiro has wasted one performance after another for the past twenty years. I think he's given several very good performances even though many of the characters weren't the strongest items for an actor of his range. The performance here is downright terrific and truly deserves to be called that "old DeNiro" style. DeNiro doesn't need words to show what his character is feeling and he perfectly brings to life this rather sad character who is smart enough to know there's a lot more going on with his children then they're willing to tell him. I found DeNiro to be perfect and one would hope he'd get some Oscar consideration but that probably won't happen considering how the film did at the box office (but I would ask why that should matter). DeNiro gets to interact with various characters and the amount of life he brings this character will make one remember the type of work he was turning in on a consistent basis years ago. I won't ruin DeNiro's big scene towards the end but it's certainly very overwhelming. The supporting cast has Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell playing the children and they all give fine performances and mix with DeNiro very well. I do wish the actual film would have been a bit stronger because it's extremely depressing but at times I felt the film was holding back. I really can't explain what but it just never really felt like a full movie and at times there were some plot details that were a tad bit over dramatic and other times that the film pushes too hard to get its point across. While the film does have its share of problems, the real reason for anyone to watch this is for the return of DeNiro and that alone makes this worth seeing. Again, not the happiest film out there but at least we get to see DeNiro playing his best character in quite a while.

Once the trailer hit the internet, I knew I was going to see this movie. Nostalgia, De Niro and Barrymore were the primary reasons. Of those reasons, Nostalgia and De Niro were most responsible for the big lump in my throat and regret that I had no Kleenex.

We go to movies to either escape reality or simply live in fantasy, don't we? I have to say, so much reality existed in this movie, escapism and fantasy seemed totally lost. The subtleties of everyday life can mean so much in retrospect. Every little thing that we do, no matter its importance, can come back and haunt us. That, surprisingly, is what makes this movie so real and endearing.

Nothing about Everybody's Fine is lacking if you can find yourself or someone you know in this movie. The beauty of it is, you will find someone you know. If you haven't tricked yourself into thinking this might be like Christmas Vacation or Planes, Trains and Automobiles, then I hope you can appreciate its evenly paced, nostalgia filled beauty.

De Niro has outdone himself with this simple heart-filled "grown family" film. I can truthfully say I liked him more in this than anything else he has done, although I also believe he probably didn't have to dig too deep into his soul to be Frank Goode. I will be surprised if he has not turned the heads and hearts of those who can nominate him for an Oscar. While all the characters were easy to relate to, this movie was more about Frank Goode's journey from state to state and through life.

Believe me, Everybody's Fine is more than just fine.

9/10 and one giant hug for everyone involved in making this beautiful film.

A widowed dad makes a trek across the country to visit his four adult kids in four different cities. They're all hiding something from him about themselves and about their brother David. Poor old Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) gets the same phony smile and fake candor from each of his kids and he knows it, but what can he say?

This movie resonates with me because I'm Frank Goode. I don't have four adult kids, but I have kids and a wife, and they all keep certain things from me. Maybe, just like Frank, I'm pushing them too hard so they spare me the failures and the screw ups, or maybe that's what mothers and children do.

"Everybody's Fine" is a slow, mild, and tender movie about a father trying to connect with his kids. Robert De Niro puts on his best boomer dad act by haggling over prices, showing pictures of his kids to strangers, and ignoring his doctor. "Everybody's Fine" is emotional without being emotionally draining. It's a fine drama suitable for any audience.

How many times have you ever asked, or ever were asked the question: How are things? Invariably, one replies, "everything is fine," except of course it's not true. The response is a polite brush-off. This movie is about how a man decides not to accept the brush-off, this time coming from his own children and as a result makes some interesting discoveries. This movie contains Robert DeNiro's strongest role in years. The entire story revolves around his character and he really brings the character to life. A brilliant performance by a great actor. This movie is like Robert Young in Father-Knows-Best deciding to really connect with his children after years of just being around. What's even better is that the movie avoids becoming trite and effectively brings the audience into this family's world as the story explores themes that are relevant to all families. Children grow up, leave the home, go their separate ways, leaving behind memories. A wonderful movie.

Ah, platitudes. We're all guilty of using them. They're a polite way of telling someone to buzz off, that you don't want to talk to them, that they are unworthy of your time. This movie is all about platitudes, most cruelly applied when it's least needed or wanted. In this movie a man wants to initiate communication with his children, all of whom are adults and have long since left the home, and he and his children go through a lot of changes as they attempt to bridge the gulf that separates them. This doesn't mean the children don't care about their father, they do. But the emotional closeness was never there and this is what this movie is about: breaking down barriers to establish an emotional connection. This movie is a Robert DeNiro vehicle. It is his re-emergence onto the Hollywood scene after years of cinematic oblivion. His performance is a tour de force; he deserves at least an Academy Award nomination for best actor. He carries the movie. Drew Barrymore also gives an impressive performance as one of Mr. DeNiro's daughters. Ms. Barrymore shines on the screen and proves once again that she is one of the premiere actresses in Hollywood. Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsdale also are excellent. What a great movie! Never cold-shoulder your father.

This is the best Robert DeNiro movie in years. His strong acting carries this sentimental story about a man trying to reconnect with his children. The movie places a strong emphasis on family relationships and does an excellent job in engaging and keeping the audience's attention as Mr. DeNiro's character embarks on an odyssey of emotional discovery. At times the story verges on becoming openly maudlin but succeeds in avoiding that pitfall. The movie also avoids becoming hokey and corny and succeeds in staying on course as the DeNiro character continues on his journey. All in all, this is a wonderful movie featuring a strong performance by Robert DeNiro. After watching this movie, you will think twice before telling someone "everybody's fine" unless you mean it.

My title pretty much suns it up. The movie drags along at a turtle's pace, but the quality of the acting keeps you watching, even though you know how the story will go long before they get there. It is another story of the realities of life, just not that entertaining though as a movie

When I went to see this, I expected one of those progressive stories like he was getting ditched and as he went and surprised them things got better, they had laughs and things were healed sort of typical thing. But it definitely didn't go down like that. There were about maybe 8 people in the theater when I went to see this movie, 3 of them were me and my 2 friends.

I have to say this movie was really sad and had a lot to say about child/parent relations. I am only 18 years old but I love these types of films and it made me think about how I would be with my parents when I get older and it really makes me want to make sure I keep a good relationship with my parents. My dad has always pushed me and wanted better for me in school and I have always been very average and against the grain, as it seems like David was.

I don't know if the makers wanted the relation between Frank and his kids to seem empty, but that's how it seemed to be throughout the film until the end. Even if it was lack of chemistry between actors, which of course I highly doubt it was, it works wonders and shows that Frank is like an alien to them and also that they are alien to him. When he learns that all of his children aren't actually as successful, he seems like he's struggling within to try and understand where they're coming from instead of just showing his disappointment. When things finally come tumbling down towards the film's climax, they come right back together as a family would. This movie made me tear up and really the only reason I didn't cry was because I was with friends.

I could write a lot more about this but I'll just suggest that if you're looking for a good movie about family, or even if you just like De Niro(that's why I saw it), you should definitely see this movie. It won't disappoint.

¨If you would ask me I would have to say in all honesty, everybody's fine. Everybody's fine.¨ Kirk Jones (who also directed Nanny McPhee and Waking Ned Divine) directs this Italian remake from the 90's called Stanno Tutti Bene. He also is given credit for adapting the original screenplay to suit this American version better. The film works because De Niro gives a pretty powerful performance and makes you forget all the clichés the film has. Yes, it is very formulaic and we know every single kid will have something to hide from his father, they all have a problem, and they all are withholding information from him. The journey De Niro's character is making will be revealing and teach him some lessons which he never learned in his 60 years, but he will now in these few days. Everybody's Fine follows all those formulas which we have grown used to in Hollywood films, but thanks to some interesting performances the movie is worth your time. It is a dramedy, a movie that likes to play with our emotions, but it still is worth checking out. The weakest part of the movie is the distance that De Niro's character has with his children. It is hard to believe sometimes that this is actually a family and I think the director exaggerated a bit with the coldness and distance between them, and it all just ties up too neatly at the end.

Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) is a widower, who is planning on having his four children for dinner on the weekend. After making plans for preparing a nice meal he receives calls from each one saying that they won't be able to make it. Frank hasn't seen his kids since their mother's funeral and he realizes she was the one that maintained the family together, so he decides to go give them a surprise visit each. Frank has a lung condition and his doctor recommends him to stay at home and not travel, but he decides to go anyway across the different states on train and bus. His first stop is New York where he plans on visiting David (Austin Lysy), an artist. He is not at his apartment and Frank waits for an entire day without being able to reach him, although he is glad to see one of his paintings at a gallery near his apartment. Frank decides to move on and visit his daughter Amy (Kate Beckinsale) in Chicago. She is a successful ad executive and has a nice home she shares with her husband and son. Frank then travels to Denver the next day because she is busy and visits Robert (Sam Rockwell), who plays the percussion for the orchestra. Frank's last trip is to Las Vegas where he meets up with Rosie (Drew Barrymore), a successful professional dancer. Frank realizes that his children have all been lieing to him and that they are not all fine, but he wonders why they can't trust him and figures it is because he pushed his kids too hard.

Robert De Niro gives one of his best performances in years, and it was good to see him in this kind of role. Drew Barrymore also gives a great performance and she seemed the closest with her father, and perhaps the only one who really had chemistry with him. It was hard to believe his relationship with his other children, especially with Kate Beckinsale's character who was too distant. Sam Rockwell gives a good performance, he is a great actor, but he was much better in Moon. The movie has a slow start, but after a while you begin to get involved in the story and wonder what the kids are hiding. Frank has worked hard all his life making telephone cables in order to give his kids a good education and has really pushed them, perhaps a bit too much. Ironically that communication media is not used anymore by his children who all use wireless cellphones, and it represents the communication between them that has been broken over the years. I think that the main problem the film has is that it tries to resolve everything at the end, and it just doesn't work that well. However, the story is well told and if you are into these emotional movies then you will probably enjoy this one because it has some good performances and is a very touching movie. The problem I had with it was that it was too formulaic, but still worth it in my opinion.

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There is a very good film that stars a Hollywood legend playing against type as a retired widower taking a road trip, along the way facing issues about his own life and those of his relationship with his offspring. 'About Schmidt' is that film's name and it is wonderful. This film is NOT that film.

While 'Everybody's Fine' follows a very similar premise, unfortunately it doesn't share anywhere near the same quality of theme, character, performances or dialogue as Alexander Payne's vastly superior film. This effort is tentative at best in its character and plot set up - the reasoning behind why the kids are so distant with their father is only barely convincing as De Nero's Frank Goode actually seems like a fairly normal kind of guy, as oppose to the fastidious, over-bearing patriarch suggested by his off spring. My main problem with the film is its over sentimentality in the final third of the film. The director cranks up the melodrama with weepy strings on the score and some awful examples of expositional dialogue making abso-bloody-lutely sure we have no doubt what EVERYONE and EVERYTHING means, with ill-advised voice overs, dream sequences and only the very happiest of endings on offer, which is in itself deeply unbelievable as anyone with a dysfunctional family knows, you cannot un-do a lifetime of bad feeling with a few Christmas lights and a well-cooked turkey. The fact that lots of these reviewers are calling De Nero's performance here the best for 15 or 20 years really just shows how far he has fallen from his truly great performances in the 70's and 80's. Soppy over explained but undercooked melodrama that really should've been better considering the wealth of acting talent available.

"Everybody's Fine" is one of those quieter holiday movies. They weren't going for a big awards push, no splashy CGI/animation, and no grandiose plot line. They did everything they were going for just fine.

We have Robert De Niro, a widower, travelling to each of his grown children's houses for Christmas. David (Austin Lysy) is in New York; Amy (Kate Beckinsale) is in Chicago; Robert (Sam Rockwell) is in Denver; and Rosie (Drew Barrymore) is in Las Vegas. They each of course have their own problems (in their own niche of their big city) which belie their constant refrain, "Everybody's fine, dad".

These are all competent actors doing a good job, with story lines which work well for them. The issue with the movie is, that we as the audience know the trouble and lies that are brooding beneath the surface, and we know them long before De Niro finds out. So all we get is a sense of frustration along with the sadness they are currently facing. I also wouldn't want to keep secrets from De Niro for very long.

The jokes are minimal, and too often, drawn out for no good purpose. "Everybody's Fine" is a weeping drama which espouses on some of life's important(?) lessons. This is all just fine, but do we really want Hollywood teaching us values in parent-child relationships?

Went to a screening of this film today, and I had decided not to watch the trailer, or read anything about the movie before. Looking at the poster, I was expecting a Christmas-y comedy or something like that. I was totally wrong (and don't get me wrong this is definitely not a bad thing for the movie!) Just don't expect a laugh out loud comedy. It did have it's funny moments though, and those were great. The movie made me feel really really bad for the De Niro character, and through the whole thing just made me want to go give him a big hug LOL. De Niro's performance was great and made you feel what that character was feeling at that time. The other performances were also fairly good. All in all, a good movie as long as you are not expecting a straight out comedy! I would definitely recommend seeing this one when it comes out in theaters.

Al Pacino for some reason decided to have plastic surgery. Aside from making him look permanently shocked, it ridiculous that a character actor would want to mess around with his main source of income, in the same way that a physicist wouldn't drink White Ace.

On the other hand, Pacino's contemporary and regular collaborator De Niro hasn't touched his mug, leaving him free to clean up in the lucrative grandfather and retired policemen market. In Everybody's Fine he plays the former, an old man who becomes increasingly lonely following his wife's death, and so goes in search of his four children, hoping to reconnect with them.

De Niro is Frank Goode, a telephone cable maker who spent his entire life working to provide for his family, whilst pushing his children as hard as he could to succeed. As a result, they are all a bit resentful and cagey towards him. Everybody's fine is about his attempts to get to know them, a process made almost impossible as they try to hide their problems from him, not wanting him to judge them failures.

It's not a fast paced film and much of its impact relies on what the characters don't say rather than what they do. De Niro does a superb job with Goode, portraying him as a tired old man whose need to see his children comes into direct conflict with his natural desire to try and direct their lives.

Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale all perform well as Frank's children, although their roles themselves are exceptionally basic, requiring almost nothing from the actors, which makes it fairly surprising that they signed up, all testament to De Niro's still exceptionally powerful allure as an actor.

Kirk Jones' screenplay requires very little from anyone except for De Niro, and even then not an enormous amount. The story is not a complex one and by telling you so little about the characters he lets you read pretty much anything into them you want, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you think Drew Barrymore's character in ET would have grown up to be a lesbian dancer.

Jones does a reasonable job as a director, but again, it is mostly De Niro's performance that keeps you watching to the sad but predictable end.

This is not your typical holiday movie nor at the end of the week- movie.Not everybody's fine.

The story revolves around a father(De Niro), who's wife has passed away, and his desire to reunite his four children for the holidays.Now, when he's alone, preparing the house for the upcoming holidays, all of his children cancel the holiday meeting with no explanation.The lonely man sets on a journey around the States to find his children and learn the truth as well as to reunite the family again.The truths, he finds, are more painful, than he could ever imagine.

The story is obvious at the beginning-but then the viewer begins to discover painful truths, the now-grown-kids are keeping away from their loving father.There are some very inventing and innovating twists, that are merely unpredictable.The story is told beautifully, with some poetry in it, which improves on Robert De Niro's brilliant acting.I would say, he deserves a higher praise, for what he has done, because i personally think, that Jeff Bridges wasn't better than him, with all my respect, of course.De Niro's outstanding performance carries the movie until the end.

As for the other cast, i wasn't that impressed.Kate Beckinsale and Drew Barrymore were at the same level of quality, but that just wasn't enough.Sam Rockwell was mediocre, definitely not good enough.I know they were supposed to be cold, but even coldness can be portrayed better than that.

The director did his best, which wasn't that much, considering the cast and script he had to work with.Every director should be able to pull it off, when he works with an amazing actors (again, mostly De Niro in that case), and a solid script.But as a whole, he did a good job.

I felt, that the tragedy was a little to much in the end, but things couldn't have been better revealed than this.It was depressing, but necessary to say the least.And again, i'm looking at De Niro with new eyes now, he touched me so deep.

The pain is deep sometimes.But you have to fight with it to keep your family united, and together, no matter the distance.The distance in your heart is, what really matters.And in the end Everybody's Fine.

My rate: 8.5/10

Family dysfunction is given a lugubrious, sentimental treatment by writer/director Kirk Jones ("Waking Ned Devine") in what is actually a remake of a 1990 Italian film, "Stanno tutti bene", written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, no stranger to sentiment since he made the neo-classic "Cinema Paradiso". The earlier film starred the legendary Marcello Mastroianni as a Sicilian civil servant who travels throughout Italy to pay surprise visits to his children after his wife has died. This mirror version stars the equally legendary Robert De Niro as Frank Goode, a former blue-collar worker living in upstate New York, doing the same thing with his grown children. The first part of the plot reminds me of an even earlier classic, Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story", which told the story of an elderly couple who visit their grown children in Tokyo only to discover they have no time for them. That film was a subtle classic that didn't telegraph its emotional impact around contrived plot turns.

The same cannot be said for this turgid 2009 drama which bears the sometimes unbearable stamp of manipulation in Jones' overly deliberate treatment with sometimes too-perfectly composed shot compositions courtesy of Henry Braham's immaculate cinematography. The plot follows Frank on his voyage of discovery as he settles into his unfulfilling widowed existence. After being rebuffed by his four children to come home for the holidays, he decides to take matters into his own hands and visit each one of them despite a serious heart ailment. He begins to realize it was his wife who had been the emotional conduit that kept the family in touch despite the divergent paths they all took. Frank sets out by train and bus to surprise each of them in their locales. The first is David, an artist living a boho-type lifestyle in Manhattan, but he isn't home for reasons that will become clear later in the story. Then it's off to see Amy, a successful, Type-A Chicago advertising executive living a life out of the pages of Architectural Digest.

Frank moves on to Denver to meet his son Robert, a symphony percussionist whom Frank thought was a conductor, and finally to Las Vegas where he visits Rosie, a dancer living in a luxurious apartment. Needless to say, things are not what they appear, and Frank becomes aware of how estranged he truly has become from his children as revelations start to unfold like clockwork. As an actor, De Niro seems to have settled into a relatively passive figure only evoking the heat of his past performances during key moments. Unfortunately, that happens in the film's worst scene, a hallucinogenic fantasy scene where Frank is talking to his memory of his children as toddlers only to have them talk back like their adults (a bit like the classroom scene in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" but without the laughs). Otherwise, De Niro makes his character a befuddling, somewhat endearing presence throughout. Kate Beckinsale plays Amy efficiently but not too deeply. The ad pitch during her sequence is the one unexpectedly funny bit in the whole film.

Sam Rockwell fares better as the son since the sense of disappointment is palpable between father and son in his scenes with De Niro. Drew Barrymore uses her natural warmth and likability to play Rosie as Frank's obvious favorite, a daughter who won't do anything to let her father down. The always watchable Melissa Leo ("Frozen River") shows up in a convenient but touching cameo as a sympathetic truck driver who bonds with Frank over their recent spouse losses. The whole plot executes on a series of conveniences such as the blatant connection between Frank's former job in covering PVC cables and the overlapping voiceovers of the siblings on moving images of telephone wires. The 2010 DVD release is weak as these types of releases go with the only extras being seven deleted/extended scenes (interesting but excisable) and an interview with Paul McCartney, who wrote and performed the appropriately sentimental song, "I Want to (Come Home)", played over the closing credits.

Everybody's Fine possesses the heart and soul most modern movies lack. Yet it seems like director Kirk Jones does not know how to manage it. The story is so bogged down by sentimentality, near the end it feels like a heavy bag of luggage. The story has very few light moments and a lot of drama, though not incredibly well-done. It also looks incredibly like a Lifetime movie and not like a cinema released in theaters. Yet there are some moments of beauty including a strong performance from De Niro. After it is all done, there is not much to rave about, but at least writer-director Jones's heart was in the right place. Liked the intentions, did not like the movie.