‘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.