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"EVERYBODY'S FINE"
(2009) (Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate Minor Heavy Mild None
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Minor None None None Heavy
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Moderate Minor Extreme Moderate Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Dramedy: After his adult kids disappoint him when they cancel plans for their previously scheduled family get-together, a recently retired widower travels across the country for surprise visits to all of them.
PLOT:
In the Goode family, Frank (ROBERT DE NIRO) was the breadwinner, working his entire life applying PVC coating to telephone lines, while his wife raised the kids and thus stayed in better contact with them once they grew up and moved out. Now retired and a widower of less than a year, Frank has planned their first family get-together since his wife's death, and thus he's disappointed when they all cancel on him. Accordingly, and against his doctor's advice, Frank sets out on a cross-country road trip via bus and train to pay surprise visits to all of them.

The first stop is New York where he waits to meet his painter son David, admiring some of his work in the gallery below his place. When David never shows, Frank slips an envelope under his door and heads off to Chicago to see Amy (KATE BECKINSALE), an advertising exec. She's surprised to see her dad, but like her husband, Jeff (DAMIAN YOUNG), and their son, Jack (LUCIAN MAISEL), she doesn't have time to spend with him, what with already busy schedules.

After handing Amy her envelope, Frank is off to see her brother, Robert (SAM ROCKWELL), who Frank believes is a conductor but in reality is just a percussionist in the orchestra. Robert senses his dad isn't pleased with the discovery, while Frank begins to believe his kids might not be telling him the truth, especially when Robert says he's headed off to Europe with the other performers and thus doesn't have time to spend with him.

His sister, Rosie (DREW BARRYMORE), who's a dancer in shows in Vegas, does have time, but her seemingly too-good-to-be true lifestyle similarly raises red flags. The same holds true for her and her siblings seemingly hiding something about David from him. As Frank tries to figure out what's going on, he must also come to terms with the fact that his kids aren't as open with him as they were with their mother.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
It's highly unlikely if they're not fans of someone in the cast.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For thematic elements and brief strong language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • ROBERT DE NIRO plays a recently retired widower who's looking forward to getting together with all of his kids for the first time since his wife's death. When they all end up canceling, he decides to travel across the country and pay them surprise visits. He ends up disappointed, however, by them being too busy, not leading the lives he hoped for them, and/or telling white lies to him about their lives. He briefly uses profanity in one scene, some of it strong, and briefly drinks.
  • DREW BARRYMORE plays one of his daughters, a show dancer in Vegas who tries to impress him via her apartment that turns out not to be hers, while she also lies about a child (that turns out to be hers). She may or may not be bisexual (a reference made in a fantasy segment).
  • KATE BECKINSALE plays her sister, an advertising executive who doesn't have time for their dad due to his visit being a surprise. She tries to cover up a shaky marriage and family life so that he's not disappointed in her. She has wine with dinner.
  • SAM ROCKWELL plays their brother, a percussionist in a symphony rather than the conductor as Frank was led to believe. He's content with his life, but not his dad's visit and thus lies about his availability to spend time with him. He's noted as an occasional smoker, and nearly smokes once.
  • LUCIAN MAISEL plays Amy's teenage son who isn't respectful toward his dad due to family issues.
  • DAMIAN YOUNG plays his father who we later hear left Amy for another woman and is playing the part of dad/husband just for Amy to appease Frank. He has wine with dinner.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a quick look at the content found in this dramedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. A few instances of non-explicit, sexually related dialogue are present, a hooker non-explicitly propositions a man (he doesn't take the bait) who later misinterprets another comment as a come-on.

    There's a brief and non-graphic scene of violence (struggling). Some drinking is present, and one scene involves cigarettes but no actual smoking, while several drug references are made (but no use is seen). Bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material.

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Frank asks a grocery store clerk about what wine to choose for the family get-together, but the clerk is fairly oblivious about what to recommend.
  • Frank, Amy and Jeff have wine with dinner.
  • We hear conversations among the adult siblings that David was arrested in Mexico on drug charges. We later hear another about him buying drugs in a bar, being caught, panicking, and then taking some.
  • A trucker driver tells Frank that she also lost her spouse within the year, but adds that was from drinking issues.
  • We see Frank trying to buy wine again at the same grocery store. Later, we see Robert opening a bottle of wine at a family get-together, and then everyone has wine with the meal.
  • SPOILER ALERT: We hear that David died of a drug overdose.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • A small, cherub-type fountain statue in Frank's yard has a stream of water come out from the small nozzle standing in for the penis.
  • There are several references to Frank telling young David that the son should be an artist and not a painter since painters paint walls that dogs then pee on.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • When Amy asks Jack to pass some sauce over to his dad for dinner, the teen refuses, thus creating some tension that suggests something deeper than just disobedience.
  • Frank's kids tell or act out various white lies, all in hopes of protecting him from the truth about their lives/existence.
  • A young homeless and/or drug-addicted young man isn't grateful to Frank for the money the latter gave him. Having spotted more money, he then tries to rob Frank, with the two struggling until Frank pushes the young man down by the face. That man then stomps on Frank's prescription medicine bottle out of spite before taking off.
  • When ordering a refill of his prescription medication, Frank lies to his doctor about his whereabouts as well as what happened to the other pills.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • A young homeless and/or drug-addicted young man isn't grateful to Frank for the money the latter gave him. Having spotted more money, he then tries to rob Frank, with the two struggling until Frank pushes the young man down by the face. That man then stomps on Frank's prescription medicine bottle out of spite before taking off.
  • Frank starts to have a panic attack onboard a plane during some storm-related turbulence. He goes into the bathroom and appears even worse until the flight attendants come in. We then see him being wheeled into an ambulance on a gurney, and then hear he had a heart attack.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • None.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Oh sh*t," "Where the hell are my shorts?" "C'mon, Tiger Woods," "He's a little nippy," "A big mother," "It's like Sudoku," "The damndest thing" and "I'll burn the damn thing."
  • A miscellaneous hooker has a tattoo.
  • Making a reference about the cold in his sales pitch, one of Amy's subordinates says the fictional character is a little "nippy" while pointing to his own, clothed chest.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • None.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 "f" word, 3 "s" words, 5 damns, 1 hell, 5 uses of "Oh my God," 3 each of "Christ" and "God," 2 of "Jesus" and 1 use of "Oh God."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • A small, cherub-type fountain statue in Frank's yard has a stream of water come out from the small nozzle standing in for the penis.
  • We briefly see Frank shirtless while seeing his doctor.
  • When a hooker sees Frank waiting by David's place, she playfully tells him he can come away with her, and asks if he wants to see some leg (she shows some, but nothing explicit), prompting him to joke the same back to her (but his leg is clothed).
  • As a female truck driver gives Frank a ride, she tells him about a motel where she stays for the night. He thinks that's a proposition, but she say it's not as she sleeps in her truck.
  • Frank has an imagined picnic scene with his kids in their younger days, but with their current adult mindset and knowledge. During this, he hears that a neighbor's baby dropped off with Rosie was actually hers, and that she isn't sure if she likes men or women (implying she's bisexual).
  • SMOKING
  • As Robert goes to light up a cigarette, Frank tells him not to despite being a past smoker himself. After being pointed out as a hypocrite, Frank tells him to go ahead, but Robert then decides he's quit and doesn't.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Despite Frank's preparations, all of his adult kids disappoint him with reasons they can't make their previously planned family get-together.
  • Rosie admits to her dad on the phone that she hasn't been home since her mom's funeral.
  • Frank's doctor shares his widower story with Frank, saying he used to talk to his dead wife for months after her passing.
  • When Amy asks Jack to pass some sauce over to his dad for dinner, the teen refuses, thus creating some tension that suggests something deeper than just disobedience.
  • Frank is disappointed when Amy states that she, her husband, and son don't have time to spend with him due to previous commitments (although he did show up unannounced).
  • Frank is disappointed to learn that Robert is an orchestra percussionist and not the conductor as he was lead to believe. That's exacerbated when Robert says he must travel with the group to Europe and thus can't spend time with him.
  • We hear that Frank's wife has been dead for 8 months.
  • A trucker driver tells Frank that she also lost her spouse within the year, but adds that was from drinking issues.
  • Frank overhears a telephone call that proves to him that Rosie is borrowing a nice apartment in Vegas to try to impress him.
  • Rosie informs her dad that it was always easier for her and her siblings to talk to their mom than him.
  • Frank has an imagined picnic scene with his kids in their younger days, but with their current adult mindset and knowledge. During this, we hear that Jeff left Amy for another woman and that's why Jack was upset with him at dinner. He also hears that a neighbor's baby dropped off with Rosie was actually hers, and that she isn't sure if she likes men or women (implying she's bisexual).
  • SPOILER ALERT: The adult kids eventually tell their dad that their brother died of an overdose in Mexico, leaving Frank in tearful disbelief.
  • Frank imagines a conversation with David both as a boy and adult.
  • Frank talks to his wife's gravesite about their kids.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • How many men find themselves lost and/or missing social contact when their wives die before them.
  • Frank's doctor shares his widower story with Frank, saying he used to talk to his dead wife for months after her passing.
  • We hear that Frank has fibrosis of the lungs after a career of applying PVC to telephone lines.
  • Frank briefly stops and looks at the photos of missing/dead victims at the 9/11 World Trade Center site, while he later looks at a small memorial where a car accident took one or more lives.
  • Rosie informs her dad that it was always easier for her and her siblings to talk to their mom than him.
  • Drug use.
  • VIOLENCE
  • A young homeless and/or drug-addicted young man isn't grateful to Frank for the money the latter gave him. Having spotted more money, he then tries to rob Frank, with the two struggling until Frank pushes the young man down by the face. That man then stomps on Frank's prescription medicine bottle out of spite before taking off.



  • Reviewed November 19, 2009 / Posted December 4, 2009

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