- Review: John Wick 3 (C)
Scott Sycamore - Weekend Box Office
May 17 - 19 - Crowd Reports
Avengers: Endgame - Us
Box office comparisons - Review: Justice League (C)
Craig Younkin
Movie Review
The Thing About My Folks
By Lee Tistaert Published March 22, 2005
US Release: September 16, 2005
Directed by: Raymond De Felitta
Starring: Peter Falk , Paul Reiser , Olympia Dukakis , Elizabeth Perkins
PG-13
Running Time: 96 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $814,682
Directed by: Raymond De Felitta
Starring: Peter Falk , Paul Reiser , Olympia Dukakis , Elizabeth Perkins
PG-13
Running Time: 96 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $814,682
C
105 of 143
This is the kind of painfully light and sentimental material that the Lifetime Channel would probably greenlight as a Sunday night special.
The Thing about My Folks is a film written by Paul Reiser, and he also produced it and is the star, alongside Peter Falk (who plays his father). When I first heard about this movie, it was compared to My Big Fat Greek Wedding as a general audience crowd pleaser. I thought Greek Wedding (B-) was a decent flick; it was clich? and kind of sappy, but some of the family issues were realistic. And the idea of seeing Reiser and Falk taking on son and father roles in this film sounded promising. But Reiser, who is accustomed to sitcoms more than he is to films, falls short of potential, and to an extreme extent ? his writing is sitcom/movie of the week material, which I probably should?ve expected.
The script is made up of broad comedy and sappy drama, which is a torturous combination. And after anticipating Falk?s performance and then seeing him being subjected to this level of brainless comedy, saying that the result is disappointing is an understatement; it is insulting. Some movies are just merely not that good, and then there are those that may not be terrible (they may be close) but they piss you off because of what they don?t accomplish. I?m not a big fan of Reiser but I think he has the potential to be funny, and Falk is a great actor. What he saw within this script is a mystery, and it couldn?t have been the money, as this movie is hardcore independent.
Paul Reiser stars as Ben Kleinman, a husband/father who is concerned with making the right choices for his family. One night Ben gets a surprise visit from his father, Sam (Falk), who reveals that his wife has walked out on him. Sam, bored and lonely, clings to Ben and his wife for support and shelter. Ben was planning to take a trip on his own the next day to check out a piece of real estate, and decides to take his dad along for some bonding, and to see if they can dive into the reasoning of the separation.
The Thing about My Folks is supposed to be a Sideways-like road comedy/drama about making up for lost time. The first time I saw Sideways (B) I wasn?t blown away, but when I gave it a second shot later on I appreciated more of its material. One of the things I didn?t like the first time was the attempt at comic relief, and the second time I didn?t find it that funny either. And seeing The Thing about My Folks made me realize that the comedy in Sideways could've been a lot worse.
The comic relief involves cheap, tasteless gags (a running joke is that Sam has a flatulence problem), and the tone is unbelievably airy (it forces a soundtrack on you to manipulate emotions). The movie?s supposed to be about the amazing ability to get to know someone, and how the relationship can change your outlook forever, but the script is amazingly devoid of character depth. Sam claims that his wife is full of crap, and Ben just complains to other people about his dad?s lack of commitment when they were younger. That?s all they ever say, back and forth, and we are supposed to believe they are ?bonding.?
There is a cute factor that this film tries to play on, and what I just mentioned is a prime example of that attempt. There?s a film called Mother (B) that Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and starred in, and it was about the difference between his generation and senior citizens ? particularly his mother. That movie could?ve easily been so light and cute that it was painful, and I thought it was funny and true; Brooks analyzed his characters, and there was humor in what he found.
Reiser just assumes that the idea of a father and son bickering is amusing on its own. I didn't crack a smile throughout this movie, and it was a lot like The Laws of Attraction (C) in that regard. A zany relationship like this can be funny, but the writer has to take apart the characters for the viewer to see their humanity (which is where the humor can be found), and Reiser hasn?t done that ? there?s very little thought process behind this movie.
The movie tries to be intimate, but there is no buildup to these notes. There are lines of dialogue about lessons of life and they come out of nowhere and have no emotional resonance. Reiser has no sensibility of pacing (it is fitfully boring) or how to connect these ideas elaborately, as he just shoves these lighthearted themes down your throat spontaneously. Peter Falk is the savior of the show, but only in that it would be a terrible movie without him (as is, it borders that line). This is the kind of painfully light and sentimental material that the Lifetime Channel would probably greenlight as a Sunday night special.
The script is made up of broad comedy and sappy drama, which is a torturous combination. And after anticipating Falk?s performance and then seeing him being subjected to this level of brainless comedy, saying that the result is disappointing is an understatement; it is insulting. Some movies are just merely not that good, and then there are those that may not be terrible (they may be close) but they piss you off because of what they don?t accomplish. I?m not a big fan of Reiser but I think he has the potential to be funny, and Falk is a great actor. What he saw within this script is a mystery, and it couldn?t have been the money, as this movie is hardcore independent.
Paul Reiser stars as Ben Kleinman, a husband/father who is concerned with making the right choices for his family. One night Ben gets a surprise visit from his father, Sam (Falk), who reveals that his wife has walked out on him. Sam, bored and lonely, clings to Ben and his wife for support and shelter. Ben was planning to take a trip on his own the next day to check out a piece of real estate, and decides to take his dad along for some bonding, and to see if they can dive into the reasoning of the separation.
The Thing about My Folks is supposed to be a Sideways-like road comedy/drama about making up for lost time. The first time I saw Sideways (B) I wasn?t blown away, but when I gave it a second shot later on I appreciated more of its material. One of the things I didn?t like the first time was the attempt at comic relief, and the second time I didn?t find it that funny either. And seeing The Thing about My Folks made me realize that the comedy in Sideways could've been a lot worse.
The comic relief involves cheap, tasteless gags (a running joke is that Sam has a flatulence problem), and the tone is unbelievably airy (it forces a soundtrack on you to manipulate emotions). The movie?s supposed to be about the amazing ability to get to know someone, and how the relationship can change your outlook forever, but the script is amazingly devoid of character depth. Sam claims that his wife is full of crap, and Ben just complains to other people about his dad?s lack of commitment when they were younger. That?s all they ever say, back and forth, and we are supposed to believe they are ?bonding.?
There is a cute factor that this film tries to play on, and what I just mentioned is a prime example of that attempt. There?s a film called Mother (B) that Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and starred in, and it was about the difference between his generation and senior citizens ? particularly his mother. That movie could?ve easily been so light and cute that it was painful, and I thought it was funny and true; Brooks analyzed his characters, and there was humor in what he found.
Reiser just assumes that the idea of a father and son bickering is amusing on its own. I didn't crack a smile throughout this movie, and it was a lot like The Laws of Attraction (C) in that regard. A zany relationship like this can be funny, but the writer has to take apart the characters for the viewer to see their humanity (which is where the humor can be found), and Reiser hasn?t done that ? there?s very little thought process behind this movie.
The movie tries to be intimate, but there is no buildup to these notes. There are lines of dialogue about lessons of life and they come out of nowhere and have no emotional resonance. Reiser has no sensibility of pacing (it is fitfully boring) or how to connect these ideas elaborately, as he just shoves these lighthearted themes down your throat spontaneously. Peter Falk is the savior of the show, but only in that it would be a terrible movie without him (as is, it borders that line). This is the kind of painfully light and sentimental material that the Lifetime Channel would probably greenlight as a Sunday night special.
Lee's Grade: C
Ranked #105 of 143 between Transamerica (#104) and Sky High (#106) for 2005 movies.
Ranked #105 of 143 between Transamerica (#104) and Sky High (#106) for 2005 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
'Thing About My Folks' Articles
- Scott's review C-
March 22, 2005 The script takes absolutely no chances, as Reiser resorts to an onslaught of gag-inducing cliches instead of using any sense of imagination or storytelling ethic. -- Scott Sycamore
