It Runs in the Family (2003)

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writer (WGA):

Jesse Wigutow (written by)

Release Date:

25 April 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Some families can survive anything. Even each other.

Plot:

This is the story of a dysfunctional New York family, and their attempts to reconcile.

Plot Keywords:

College | Baseball | Marriage | School Dance | Double Amputee

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	12:00 AM	WGNAMER
Sun. Nov. 15	4:00 AM	WGNAMER

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Alex Gromberg
Kirk Douglas	...	Mitchell Gromberg
Rory Culkin	...	Eli Gromberg
Cameron Douglas	...	Asher Gromberg
Diana Douglas	...	Evelyn Gromberg
Michelle Monaghan	...	Peg Maloney
Geoffrey Arend	...	Malik
Sarita Choudhury	...	Suzie
Irene Gorovaia	...	Abby Staley
Annie Golden	...	Deb
Mark Hammer	...	Stephen Gromberg
Audra McDonald	...	Sarah Langley
Josh Pais	...	Barney
Bernadette Peters	...	Rebecca Gromberg
Louie Torrellas	...	Jeremy

Also Known As:

A Few Good Years (USA) (working title)
Family Business (UK) (TV title)
Family Jewels (USA) (working title)
Smack in the Kisser (USA) (working title)
Smack in the Puss (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content, sexual material and language.

Runtime:

USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Denmark:7 | Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Kinnelon, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Buena Vista International

Trivia:

Rory Culkin's brother Kieran Culkin starred in It Runs in the Family (1994), which completely unrelated to this film of the same title.

Quotes:

Mitchell Gromberg: Alex, you're a much better father than I was.
Alex Gromberg: Thank you. But you didn't exactly set the bar all that high.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in ... A Father... A Son... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Waves

A Bushel Of Douglas'

I think the only person who's not a member of the Douglas clan in 'It Runs In The Family' is director Fred Schepisi. Okay, I exaggerate, but there are 3 generations PLAYING 3 generations (Kirk, Michael, and Cameron) and Kirk's ex-wife even plays his doting wife in the film. This is the first time that Kirk & Michael have worked together since the son's bit part in dad's '66 war drama 'Cast A Giant Shadow'. Young Cameron makes his film debut here and doesn't embarrass himself while acting with his world-famous elders. Bernadette Peters and Rory Culkin round out the headlining cast as the mother and youngest son of the Gromberg family.

This picture received plenty of publicity in spring '03 because it was a rare on-screen appearance by movie god Kirk Douglas. He doesn't stray too far from his own reality as a stroke victim with a loving wife and a successful son. In the movie, the Grombergs are New York lawyers. It must have been an act of will not to make them movie producers or something filmic. The drama is actually mostly melodrama, some of which doesn't work. Mitchell (Kirk) has a complicated relationship with Alex (Michael), who has difficult relations with his own sons. Every character goes through romantic troubles of one kind or another (death of a beloved, first love, infidelity) and the movie deserves credit for managing to be cute, but not cloying. It even ends on the right note of non-finality, which I assume was a contribution by Schepisi (who's good at leaving some realistic loose ends in his films).

Kirk probably comes off best here. He does a thing with pillows that just might bust your heart in two. Michael isn't stretching himself (although you can read the reverence for his dad in his eyes) and while Bernadette Peters & Rory Culkin do a nice job, they're merely providing low-key support to the Douglas gang. Kirk's still got it, even if he has to work extra hard to form sentences. The ferocity of 'The Bad And The Beautiful' isn't there anymore (hey, the guy is 88 this year, so the fact that he's working at all is amazing), but Kirk shows some funny facial expressions and double-takes. He's never anything less than compelling, which is the way it's always been in his career.

'It Runs In The Family' was in & out of theatres in about 19 minutes last year, which is a shame. While I'm being generous to recommend it, I confess that I enjoyed myself and really grew to like what was going on in this flick. The humour is scatter-shot, but I like that they didn't camp it up and go for cheap gags. Perhaps Michael, Kirk & company have never had a strained relationship the way the Gromberg's do, but they play the pathos in Jesse Wigutow's script well enough to make you care. Am I being so nice because it's such a treat to see a feisty Kirk Douglas working again? Maybe, but I felt good about these characters, warts and all. Perhaps the Douglas' will do something else together and get Catherine Zeta-Jones to join in the fun.