‘It Runs in the Family’ is like a 2-hour Douglas ad

REEL CRITICS

Suffers from stale sentimentality

Jeff Klemzak of La Crescenta owns a roofing business.

Proving true the old adage that bad news travels fast, only a

handful of people were seated at a local theater this past weekend to

see “It Runs in the Family” on only the second night of its release.

“It Runs in the Family” deals with familial detachment and lack of

communication, but it is served up with such stale sentimentality and

is paced so slowly that any insights offered by this bomb are

derailed by frustration and boredom.

Produced by Michael Douglas, the project includes his father,

aging film star Kirk Douglas, his mother, Diana Douglas, and his

young son, Cameron, leading one to believe “It Runs in the Family”

came to be simply as a vanity to showcase the entire Douglas family.

Done in the slice-of-life style with no defined beginning, middle

or ending, the film just chugs along, taking an occasional plot turn

to break up the monotony.

The only thing lacking here would’ve been a pie fight or a train

wreck to liven things up a bit.

The beginning moves too slowly

Billie Nichols of Burbank is a Realtor.

What drew me to see “It Runs in the Family,” is the family

Douglas: Kirk, Diana, Michael and Cameron.

I’m fairly certain the story was just that, a story, but seeing

them together was worth the trip. The performances were marvelous.

When I read a book, if it doesn’t catch me on the first page, I

put it down. Had this been a book, I never would have seen what to me

were the highlights of the film.

Memorable moments are Kirk and Michael in two boat scenes, with

both humor and pathos, and Cameron dancing to his records and baring

almost all (move over, Bruce Willis).

Of course, not all of the film grabbed me. I felt it moved too

slowly, especially at the beginning. It took about one-third of the

movie to start reaching me. When it did, I thoroughly enjoyed the

rest of it.

It would be fun to see them all again in a non-family story. We’d

get a different perspective of their interaction.

“It Runs in the Family” is rated PG-13 for drug content, sexual

material and language.