Review: Everybody's Fine

I'm not a fan of movie trailers. I like a short teaser, but three-minute trailers -- for example, the Edge of Darkness trailer currently playing in theaters --  that appear to reveal the entire plot bother me. Even more so are the misleading trailers. Yes, you need to entice folks in to the theater, but I'm quite baffled at the main trailer for Everybody's Fine, the American adaptation of the 1990 film Stanno Tutti Bene with Marcello Mastroianni. This trailer reminded me of the recut trailer for The Shining, depicting a happy-go-lucky about a boy and his dad. How could such a somber film be portrayed as a joyful coming home movie?

Much like Massimo De Rita's original screenplay for Stanno Tutti Bene, everybody's far from fine -- widower Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) realizes that his only connection to his children had been his wife, so he sets out to visit each of them. Things aren't as they seem, as the viewer sees that his adult children are hiding the truth from their father. A sibling in trouble, drug use, divorce, an illegitimate child -- these are all issues that have been kept from Frank's view. But were they? The implication is that his wife may not have always shielded him, but rather he chose to ignore the signs. His journey is not just revealing of his children's secrets, but also an opportunity for self-examination.

Robert De Niro turns in a convincing lead performance that has already led to an award from the Hollywood Film Festival. Supporting cast Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale and Drew Barrymore as the grown Goode siblings effectively represent the adults that are still children in their father's eyes. Everybody's Fine may leave many viewers with the desire to call their parents on the way home from the theater.