“Everybody’s Fine”

Reviewed 12 December 2009 by Ted Faraone

3 ½ stars out of five; $9 ticket on a scale of $0 to $12.50

STANNO TUTTI ANCORA BENE

Remaking a hit is tough work.  But helmer/scribe Kirk Jones has done a workmanlike job of adapting Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 “Stanno Tutti Bene,” an Italian black comedy for an aging Marcello Mastroianni, into a slightly lighter, amiable dramedy for American auds with Robert De Niro in the lead.

Pic centers on Frank Goode (De Niro), a recently widowed factory worker who suffers from a work-related breathing difficulty and misses his four grown kids.  After the four bail out on dad’s elaborate barbecue, he sets out on a surprise trip to visit each and every one. 

Much like Tornatore’s original, De Niro’s Frank Goode finds his kids not doing as well as he had expected.  David (Austin Lysy) an artist, never appears except in Frank’s memories and dreams.  One of plot’s key points is the conspiracy of the surviving trio to keep news of his death in a Mexican jail from Frank.  Kate Beckinsale’s Amy is a successful Chicago advertising executive whose secret is that her marriage has gone south.  Drew Barrymore as Rosie is an amiable bi-sexual Las Vegas restaurant hostess and single mom who led her dad to believe that she is a successful lead dancer in a Las Vegas show.  Sam Rockwell (Robert) is a percussionist in the Seattle Symphony whom dad thinks is the conductor.  And special mention goes to Friar James Murtaugh as Frank’s accidentally funny physician. 

Eventually, all is revealed to Frank, who is not as dumb as his kids think.  A heart attack (courtesy of an ill-advised flight and an airport mugger played convincingly by Brendan Sexton III -- how he got past security in the age of Al Qaeda requires suspension of disbelief) brings the family together in Frank’s hospital room.  It is the resolution of the revelations vs. Frank’s expectations that makes for film’s satisfying if a tad too Hollywood payoff. 

Some comparisons to Tornatore’s original are inevitable except for those too young to have seen it -- who probably won’t attend the remake anyway.  In the original the revelation that the lead is a widower is saved for the ending… a poignant scene in a cemetery.  Mastroianni narrates portions of the action in voice-overs which one is led to believe are letters home.  And the fate of the four offspring is a good deal darker than studio executives believe American auds are likely to accept in a star vehicle.  In addition, the interaction between the siblings, which serves both exposition and plot in the American version is largely absent from the Italian original. 

Technical credits excel.  Sound recording, a major flaw in many films, is fine.  Lensing is more than up to the task, and supporting roles are handled with finesse.  Editing is more than competent.  At 99 minutes, pic is not larded, and except for a bit of rough language, it contains nothing objectionable to children, although the latter may be amused only by De Niro’s scenes with grandson Jack (Lucian Maisel). Italians will be able to sample this remake of one of their film industry’s better efforts on 4 April 2010 when it opens there.

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