Everybody’s Fine
Robert De Niro leads a well distinguish cast composed of, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell, in the heartfelt drama Everybody’s Fine. Recently widowed Frank Goode (De Niro) is traveling across the country to reunite with his family. He is expecting to find four happy children with wonderful and successful lives of their own, but what he finds is far from perfect. There is something not being said, but what exactly? For Frank to reunite his family he must relearn the past and re-evaluate the present to put together the family he always thought he had.
That was such a touching film. I cried a little, then laughed a little, then cried some more, but man, it was really a good movie. There was a constant pull on your stings the entire film. The connection with the characters and story never faltered throughout the duration of the film. It was positively endearing from beginning to the end. It was everything I had originally thought it was going to be and more. The plot and story were played out wonderfully. There was just enough humor to keep things lighter on the heart but not so much that the sincerity of the film was lost. Everybody’s Fine definitely falls into the heartfelt drama category.
The whole concept of the film worked so well. Good intentions gone wrong, is the theme song for this film. You had a father who worked incredibly hard all his life to make sure his children had all they needed to be successful in life, while never giving them the softer side of his intentions. He was constantly pushing for them to be the best and excel in whatever direction their hearts took them. The natural buffer, the mother, has been lost and now it is left to the father and children to make their relationships work. Without ever really having a real emotional connection before, but thinking everything was always fine, the father has to work to get to know his family all over again and get the real story of their lives. It is a real emotional ride, but one worth taking.
Robert De Niro was beyond excellent. His performance was incredibly strong and emotionally moving. There were absolutely no acting deficiencies in this production what so ever. Drew Barrymore was as always, amazing playing the role of daddys little girl. Kate Beckinsale carried on with the natural poise and grace of all her performances, as she plays a successful advertisement executive. Sam Rockwell is an orchestra musician who just wants his father to be proud of what he loves to do, and does a wonderful job relaying the message. Director and writer Kirk Jones did a stand up job with both the direction and writing of this film. Other writers included Massimo De Rita, Tonino Guerra, and Giuseppe Tornatore. The music had a great feeling to it throughout and really added to the emotional pull of the film. Every aspect of the film was touching.
Special Features
– Making of Paul McCartneys “(I Want To) Come Home”
-Deleted & Extended Scenes
I enjoyed watching the deleted and extended scenes, but I can definitely see why they chose not to use them. They would have really slowed down the film and probably would have had you losing a little of your interest.
Technical Specifications:
-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
-French Language Track
-French and Spanish Subtitles
-Widescreen (2.40:1)
The film looked and sounded good. There were no outstanding visuals or anything but it wasn’t meant for that. The picture and sound quality were very pleasing to both the eyes and ears. It was your classic DVD production.