Thank God I didn't read the dreary reviews before watching this movie. For some reason, lots of people find it "depressing". (Which depresses me, since Everybody's Fine is an accurate reflection of real life. Maybe someone's in denial?) And professional critics for the most part don't find it... something... enough. But I'm a critical viewer, and I loved it. Robert DeNiro is brilliant and completely recognisable as a father of grown kids. Maybe the people who didn't like it are just too young to have been there: men of my father's generation and before, who thought their main job was to make money and hector their kids into "succeeding" during the few minutes per week they spent together. I knew this character the instant I saw him; the opening scene -- which has no dialogue -- says it all. The dad is also deeply sympathetic, which isn't easy in a movie based on his past mistakes. But I love this guy. If you knew him in real life, you will too. But what makes Everybody's Fine so powerful is that it's a mystery; clues drop subtly, around a main character who isn't as dumb, or as inflexible, as his family thinks he is. We figure out the truth along with him. The white-lying portrayed is also completely realistic; the unanswered questions kept me trying to solve the mystery.The grown kids (whom the father still tellingly calls "my children") are a bit stock, I'll give the critics that. But the performances are good; better than some reviewers have allowed. Each one is simultaneously the same and different; again, realistic. And the grandson is brilliant. Lucian Maisel manages to play it just teenaged enough to be real (and charming), without quite stepping over the line to obnoxious. He's sarcastic and outspoken, but remains inside the story. If you haven't seen this movie, stop reading the reviews. See it and make up your own mind. I'm glad I did.

This movie is about a father and his 4 children. He loves them so much, and when his wife is still alive, he didn't pay much attention to their status. When his wife is dead, he regrets about that and wants to get all the children together to have a family party. However, something bad happens, which makes it not possible. So he visits them one by one. During the visit, he knows that everybody is not as successful as they claim they are. However, he realized that David lives the life that he wants him to live, instead of doing something he himself really wants to do. This is bad thing, because people should live their own lives. Obviously he has spoiled David's life. Then he said "no matter you are a painter or an artist, I love you". It's touching. Overall this movie is good.

This is a sad movie. It's not a tear-jerker in the classic sense of the word, but it has an atmosphere of sadness throughout. It's a wonderful performance by Robert Deniro, who catches and portrays this atmosphere of sadness perfectly. His performance isn't overpowering, because that's not the nature of his character. It's just incredibly solid, and perfect for the role of Frank Goode. Frank is a recent widower who, without his wife, is just a little bit lost. He won't admit it. He tells people he's fine, but he's really not. We know he's sick with a lung problem, and we know he's alone. He has four kids that he loves, but they're scattered throughout the country and it was his wife who really kept in touch with them, and based on what she told him, they're all doing fine. As the movie opens, Frank is planning for a family re-union. All the kids are coming to visit and they'll be gathered as a family around the dinner table ("just like at Christmas") for the first time since his wife's funeral. Then one by one they all drop out, and Frank decides that if they won't come to him, he'll go to them, so he sets out on a cross- country trip to drop in on each one.We know something's wrong with Frank's eldest son. It's revealed really early on that he was arrested in Mexico. We don't know anymore, though, and all the kids want to keep this from their dad. In the meantime, as Frank makes his visits, we discover that even with the other three, not everything is as fine as Frank's wife had led him to believe. Frank knows everything isn't fine. He senses that something's wrong; that things aren't quite the way his wife told him with any of them. And we slowly unravel the mystery.Kirk Jones directed a slow-moving, gentle but very good movie. The supporting cast (especially Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell as the three kids Frank does connect with) all do their jobs very well. One thing that helps move this along, and prevents it from just being consumed by the sadness, is some low-key humour scattered throughout. Things like Frank asking the totally clueless supermarket clerk for help buying wine ("well, we have some good English wine from France, and some really good Italian wine from all over Europe"), or Frank playing golf with his grandson, or Frank thinking the trucker who gave him a lift to Reno was coming on to him. (It was a woman trucker!) They all brought a smile to my face and helped with the pacing of the movie. Without some humour, this might have been a bit too heavy.The sad atmosphere really lasts almost until the very end, only the last scenes really giving you a feeling that, finally, maybe everything will be fine. It's a fine movie, highlighted by Deniro's performance. (7/10)

I understand why this movie was not a hit. It's a little slow, and much of it is pretty depressing. But if you stick with it, you'll be rewarded with a movie that's sweet and genuine and quite creative and inventive in some of the methods it uses to tell its story. It did, however, trigger one of my pet peeves. I've always been annoyed by Non-Americans pretending to be Americans. Even though Kate Beckinsale's American accent is perfect, while watching the film, I kept hearing her say things that an American would never say. "How could this happen?" I wondered. Answer: The writer/director and his co-writer are both Europeans. At one point, she says she had an appointment, but the man "didn't turn up." Ever hear an American say that? To me, it's like a slap in the face that distracts from the story and makes me wonder who the hell made this film that wouldn't catch such a thing. Later in the movie, the same character says twice that she flew from Chicago "out to Mexico." Anyone with the vaguest understanding of North American geography would say they flew "down to Mexico." Nonetheless, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a serious look at family relationships and the strains that come along with aging parents and siblings spread far and wide.