“Connecting With DeNiro”
Robert DeNiro is a widower trying to re-connect with his four grown children in “Everybody’s Fine”. It’s a warm and fuzzy film with a holiday heartlight glow.
The movie’s plot begins with DeNiro receiving cancelation messages on his answering machine from his children. He’s become a sort of reclusive loner since his wife died and his children are spread all across the country. At first, it just seems like the children, played by Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell, are estranged from their father. But as the story unfolds, a tragic mystery is revealed as to what has prevented their holiday family reunion.
DeNiro, never one to take no for an answer, embarks on a cross-country journey to pay a surprise visit to each of his kids. These moments are wonderfully warm and heartfelt. It’s a side of DeNiro we rarely see. It’s his tender side. And it’s a side well worth knowing.
It’s the true mark of excellence for an actor to convincingly play against type. DeNiro’s tough-guy screen image, along with his real-life movie star status, make it hard to believe he’s ever been alone in his life for even a single second. But watching him alone in an all-night diner, or sitting on a bus, he makes it easy for us to sense the loneliness of this character. He seems so comfortable in this man’s shoes that, at some point, I actually believed Robert DeNiro was this guy who manufactures telephone wire for a living.
Director Kirk Jones is not in the same league as many of DeNiro’s past directors, but he knows how to get out of the way and let his actors perform. By casting his film with actors he obviously trusts, Jones has delivered a thoroughly entertaining little movie.
Director Kirk Jones is not in the same league as many of DeNiro’s past directors, but he knows how to get out of the way and let his actors perform. By casting his film with actors he obviously trusts, Jones has delivered a thoroughly entertaining little movie.
DVD Double Feature: For those who connect with Robert DeNiro’s soft side in “Everybody’s Fine”, and want to see more of it, check out a little-known 1984 drama called “Falling In Love”. Robert DeNiro has a brief affair with Meryl Streep, though both are married to others. It was DeNiro’s first real departure into romantic drama. A bit of a shock at the time, coming on the heels of “Raging Bull”, but fans of DeNiro might enjoy discovering this buried treasure today.
