Why So Blu?

‘Everybody’s Fine’ …a Cinematic Facade

Unlike the film’s trailer, I am not going to mislead you with the heading of this article.  Everybody’s Fine starring Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale, comes out in theaters this Friday.  Thank goodness I am here to save your wallets so your ten-dollar bills do not commit suicide at the box office.  The trailer led me and a few others to believe that this movie was a nifty, smile-inducing, heart-felt piece about family and bringing everyone together.  Well, that’s half right.  You will find that the smiles are almost non-existent in this very deliberate and drawn out production. 

Mr. De Niro is a master of his craft, but even his talents, nor those of Barrymore and Beckinsale, could save the day in a film where the title plays on irony and the trailer plays on bad editing.  Here’s the short of it.  De Niro’s wife recently passed away and he’s trying to spend time with his four children, all of whom are apparently thriving in their successes.  Unfortunately, one by one, each sibling cancels on flying out to New York to see good old dad.  With this string of events unfolding, the determined, proud papa sets out to visit each of his kids, one by one. 

While there is a lot of real life in this movie, the delivery is so dull and depressing.  I get it; life isn’t always happy-happy and sometimes our worst fears become reality, but making an entire film like that will sink your ship in no time.  Here’s my spoiler alert so if you’re still eager to see this movie, stop right here and please check out something else on our site.  Basically, each kid lies about their happiness in life, which they do not reveal until dear dad suffers a heart attack.  Just as in real life, everyone of them is screwed up.  That’s right and don’t roll your eyes at me Mr. and Ms. Disbelief.  We all put on our pants the same way and we’ve all got issues, but how this material is assembled in a film can make or break the storyline.  In the case of Everybody’s Fine, it broke it, like kung fu to balsa. 

The story just lumbered on and on while the mood only brought the human emotions further and further into the doldrums.  I really can’t even recommend this one as a rental though there is a good message of being true to yourself and those around you (especially those closest to you).  Spend time with your family while you can as you can never be sure when our curtain call comes.  For me, I thought I died and landed in purgatory tonight, then I realized the movie hadn’t finished yet.