Everybody’s Fine Parent Guide
While the film presents a realistic conclusion, it isn't the sappy, sentimental fluff where characters uncharacteristically break into song and dance.
Parent Movie Review
Anticipating a weekend reunion with his busy adult children, Frank (Robert De Niro) has spent days getting ready for their arrival. And it is understandable that he is disappointed when one by one they all call to cancel. So rather than kick around the house by himself, the recent widower decides to pack his bags and give his kids an impromptu visit instead.
Buying a train ticket for New York City, Frank heads out on a cross-country trip to see his son David. However when he arrives at the seedy apartment on a quiet street, no one is home. After a disappointing night spent in a 24-hour diner with a handful of other lonely, old men, Frank makes one last attempt to find his son at before catching a bus to his daughter’s house in another state.
Unfortunately Amy (Kate Beckinsale), her husband (Damian Young) and their son (Lucian Maisel) don’t give Frank quite the welcome he was hoping for. In fact he has only one night with them (an evening in which he lets out a blue streak of profanities while playing golf with his grandson) before they put him back on the road to Robert’s (Sam Rockwell) place. That meeting is strained as well and by the time Frank turns up in Las Vegas to see his youngest daughter Rosie (Drew Barrymore), he knows he isn’t getting a straight answer from any of his offspring. He also regrettably realizes it was his deceased wife who held them all together with her knack for listening.
Fortunately, despite the trunk load of issues this group faces, Everybody’s Fine doesn’t disintegrate into the highly dysfunctional holiday comedy that has become so common during the last few years. This family’s biggest problem, aside from the recent death of their mother, is their lack of communication and the barrier it poses to supportive parent/child relations.
The biggest surprise to viewers may be the serious themes of the storyline, including illegal drug abuse, alternative lifestyles, and facing disappointments. (All the jokes are shown in the trailer, which may make the movie seem lighter than it actually is.) After a lifetime of working in a blue-collar job to support his children and their dreams, Frank is faced with the fact that he hardly knows the people they have grown to be. And unfortunately, they carefully choose what they will let him know about their lives.
While the film presents a realistic conclusion, it isn’t the sappy, sentimental fluff where characters uncharacteristically break into song and dance. In fact, this ending is more of a beginning—the starting of new family relationships where, eventually, everybody will be fine.
Starring Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore. Running time: 100 minutes. Theatrical release December 4, 2009. Updated July 17, 2017About author
Everybody’s Fine
Rating & Content Info
Why is Everybody’s Fine rated PG-13? Everybody’s Fine is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for thematic elements and brief strong language.
The film opens with a garden statue urinating on the flowerbed. A young woman has a baby out of wedlock while living with a female partner. A prostitute solicits a man. A male character mistakes the intentions of a woman’s comments about stopping for the night. A woman is involved in a relationship outside of her marriage. A homeless man attacks an older character and attempts to steal his money. Comments are made about a character that was involved in drug deals and later dies from an overdose. Two characters discuss the negative aspects of smoking after one of them lights a cigarette. The script includes profanities along with a brief scene containing several moderate scatological slang terms and a strong sexual expletive.
Page last updated July 17, 2017
Everybody’s Fine Parents' Guide
How does Frank’s expectations for his children contribute to their reluctance to tell him about their present lives?How can parents find the balance between pushing their children to succeed and having unrealistic goals for them?
Although Frank wants to know the truth about his children, how does he react when he gets some hard news about his son? How does the crisis unite this group? How can family members support one another during these types of difficulties?
How can the rapid pace of life, the dependence on technology devices and distance contribute to deteriorating family relations? How can technology be used to build relationships? Do you think actual face-to-face time is important for strengthening family ties?
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Everybody’s Fine movie is October 15, 2012. Here are some details…
Everybody’s Fine releases to home video (Blu-ray) on October 16, 2012.
Release Date: 23 February 2010
Everybody’s Fine releases to DVD with the following extras:
- Featurette: The Making of Paul McCartney’s "(I Want To) Come Home"
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
Related home video titles:
Watching his children disregard some of their cultural traditions is difficult for a father as his daughters grow up and marry in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. A man has to come clean about the woman he has fallen in love with when he discovers she is his brother’s girlfriend in Dan in Real Life. Kirk Jones directed another movie about a family who needs a little outside intervention to help them learn to talk to one another in Nanny McPhee.