Everybody's Fine Review
By David Kempler
De Niro is Fine. The Rest, Not Really.
Frank Goode (Robert De Niro), true to his name, is a good man. He's not a great man, just an average Joe trying to make a decent life for his family, having spent his entire adult life toiling in a local wire factory. Together with his wife he has raised four children that have long since headed out into their own worlds. When we first meet Frank, his wife has since passed and he is not in the best of health. He's not about to die but he is a slave to medication. That's the norm for his age group so it's not an extraordinary circumstance.
His wife was always the one his children turned to when they wanted to share their feelings and emotions. His role was to work. He wasn't especially cold or distant, he just had a different function in the Goode family. Frank now feels the need to get to know his kids better but since every one of them cancels their trip home for a big get-together, he sets out to see each one of them individually in their adult lives. Amazingly, he has never been to any of their homes, which is a bit unbelievable. His reactions tell us that he has never even seen photos of his children in the places they now live. That also is a bit farfetched.
His children include Amy (Kate Beckinsale), a successful advertising exec, Robert (Sam Rockwell), a successful symphony conductor, Rosie (Drew Barrymore), a successful dancer in a Las Vegas dance company, and his other son who is nowhere to be found. It is his story that simmers beneath the surface of all of the other stories. But all is not as simple as it appears. Utopia has been found by no one.
"Everybody's Fine" is really about people who aren't living in total bliss. They are living normal lives with normal problems. We are witnesses to the awakening of Frank as he learns the truth about his children. Kirk Jones serves as the writer-director and he doesn't do that great of a job. He includes scenes clearly intended to move us that instead cause giggles or sighs because of how over-the-top they are. Luckily for Jones, he has a very talented group on the other side of his camera, especially De Niro. Despite the weakness of the material, he single-handedly saves the day and elevates what would otherwise be borderline unwatchable into a project that is easy to get through and even exudes warmth. A bonus of "Everybody's Fine" is a new song penned and sung by Paul McCartney at the end of the film. "Everybody's Fine" isn't all that fine but it's still worth some of your time and cash.
