Product: Everybody's Fine (2009)
Rating: 5.0
MAKING AMENDS....
Frank Goode(Robert DeNiro), an aging widower, feels lost with his wife gone. As his days fill up with trivia, he begins to think of his four grown children and how he has failed each of them. He plans for them all to come visit, and watching him get everything ready for their visit, I felt a sadness. Somehow, I knew he would be disappointed.And sure enough, each of the children calls in turn, giving excuses as to why they cannot come.So instead, Frank determines to surprise them by visiting them, one by one. He starts out on his journey full of hope.His oldest son, David, is not home. And things seem oddly out of sorts in Chicago, at his daughter Amy's house, too (Kate Beckinsale). In Denver, Robert (Sam Rockwell) has excuses for why they cannot spend more time together, and in Las Vegas, Rosie (Drew Barrymore) seemingly has a perfect life--on the surface.All kinds of unexpected events occur on this trip, like a homeless person Frank tries to help suddenly turning on him, and in the process, Frank's medication is trampled. Without his meds, he may not make it. So he decides to return home.When a health crisis hospitalizes Frank, three of his children turn up at his bedside, and the truth begins to unfold.I expected this to be one of those predictably comedic films, with cute family moments, but I was quite pleased to find myself glued to the screen throughout, waiting and hoping for everyone to connect.In the final scenes, we see the adult children assembled in Frank's home, cooking Christmas dinner. A nice resolution to some of the family issues.I awarded five stars toEverybody's Fine, as I was quite touched with how the film dealt with the disconnect between family members, and skillfully revealed how difficult it can be to reach out to one another.