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IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY Send This Review to a Friend
Kirk Douglas is the engine that drives "It Runs In the Family," stitched together by the idea of having the Douglas clan play a fictional Jewish family in New York. Douglas, who is 86 and a stroke victim, plays patriarch Mitchell Gromberg, who also had a stroke. But Douglas doesn't prove his mettle by milking infirmity. He's still the wily performer who knows how to mine a role for both emotion and humor, and it is worth seeing "It Runs in the Family" just to watch the renowned actor and enjoy him even at this late stage of his life and a career that has included 85 previous films.
As for the movie itself, it ripples with family saga cliches embedded in the screenplay by Jesse Wigutow, but the cast members do a lot to give the material a lift, and Fred Schepisi directs as if the family problems that unfold are new and need to be taken with the utmost seriousness.
Michael Douglas, Kirk's real-life son, plays his movie son, Alex, a lawyer who is letting the press of work lead him away from focusing on his wife and two sons, the older of whom, Asher, is played by Michael Douglas's own son Cameron. To continue the family casting, Diana Douglas, once married to Kirk and the mother of Michael, plays Mitchell's ailing wife, Evelyn.
Alex's wife Rebecca is portrayed by Bernadette Peters as a dedicated but perplexed woman who is disturbed at the lack of attention she is getting from her husband. Like a good mother, she tries hard to relate to her children. But Asher is screwing up in school, getting involved with drugs and is a general mess. He and his father have long-simmering issues, just as his father and grandfather have. Asher's younger brother Eli, who is eleven, is given an excellent performance by young Rory Culkin. Eli is picked on by the bigger guys, and is trying to understand life from his perspective, which leads to his withdrawal into his own world marked by such pressures as the need to begin making headway with girls.
In other words, this is one screwed up New York family--a typical well-heeled family, you might say--but bound together by basic love that can withstand various trials. One example is the tension that erupts at a Passover seder, attended by Mitchell's near-senile brother, brought for the occasion from his senior citizen residence. If you think the story sounds corny, it is, and I haven't even begun to provide details.
However, Kirk puts on quite a show and the other family members, especially Michael, are no slouches either. You may find some of the saga very touching. Certainly Michael as producer did a mitzvah by giving his dad this vehicle. Pop returns the favor by turning in such a fine performance, and "It Runs in the Family" emerges as much more than a casting gimmick. An MGM and Buena Vista International release.
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