Everybody's Fine

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

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.

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.

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 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.