Rating: 
Summary: An Engaging Story With No Conclusion
Review: This movie combines fiction with reality, since it a family dramar peopled with seveal generations of actors from the Douglas family. Mitchell Gromberg, the family patriarch in the movie is played by Kirk Douglas, and Evelyn his wife is played by Diana Douglas, Kirk's ex-wife. Their son Alex is played by Michael Douglas, who also produced the movie. As you watch the film you wonder howe closely it mirrors the complex and sometimes difficult real life relationship between the Michael and Kirk. Michael's son Cameron makes his very effective acting debut as the older grandson Asher. The movie seems to convey real depth the relationships of the film's characters'; this was undoubtedly aided by their shared personal experiences over several generations. The remaining family members are Eli, Asher's younger brother played by Rory Culkin and Alex's wife Rebecca portrayed by Bernadette Peters.The movie basically portrays the family life (or lack thereof) and problems of a NY household dominated by Mitchell, who founded the law firm where Alex now works. Mitchell is frustrated by a speech impediment and some physical inabilites that are the lingering results of a stroke; his son and grandsons all bear the unspoken burden of living up to his achievements (after all, IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY). Meanwhile, Rebecca and Evelyn act as the calming influences attempting to maintain the normalcy of family relationships. However, several incidents collectively threaten the family's stabilty. Among these: Asher is selling pot and failing his senior year at college, Alex gets propositioned by an assistant in the soup kitchen where he volunteers, and Eli is totally noncommunicative with his parents to the point wheres the chooses to use an Excel spreadsheet to request an increase in his allowance. (Yes, there is some humor and a few really hilarious moments in the film.) These incidents eventuallly combine with the deaths of two members of their extended family to create a considerable degree of tension and the need to initiate the type of communication that has been lacking in their relationships. This movie tells a very complex story with the diverse threads of the family members' individual needs for achievement, love and power (control) interwoven with grief and the difficulties of dealing with the transitions through the various stages of life - whether growing up, adulthood or old age. It is openly emotional, not in the sense of pulling on your heartstrings but in exploring the emotions created in others by the actions of the characters involved. While there is enough humor to lesson the tension on occasion, the emotion in many of the scenes is so intense that you become completely involved with the characters. The upside of this film is paradoxically the downside, it is too complex and too much a mirror of life to reach any conclusion. The only stories that have ended are those of the two characters that have died. This is not a movie that ties up any of the loose ends, although it does provide a few glimmers of hope. This is a well acted and directed slice of life, so it is recommended if you like that sort of film. But I only rated it four stars because it does not achieve my five star criteria of wanting to view it multiple times, two would be my absolute limit. (In comparison to the five star recommendation of MOONLIGHT MILE -... - which dealt with the themes of death, family dysfunction and noncommunication in a much more uplifting way, much more frequent humor, and with a wonderful Hollywood ending.) So, as repeatedly articulated by Eli in response to any question that he is asked, "whatever" (you prefer you can read into the ending and the message of this movie).
Rating: 
Summary: The stars say it all
Review: This movie includes the Douglas clan and the fabulous Bernadette Peters.....need I say more??? Seriously this movie is not for younger children, but teenagers and adults will love its (dysfunctional) family fun that everyone can relate to!! A true joy that will charm everyone!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: it is OK, that is all
Review: This movie's biggest draw is that Michael Douglas' real parents (Kirk and Diana Douglas) play his parents and his real son (22-year-old Cameron) plays his son. Otherwise it is an OK movie but nothing special. It is annoying to see them pan over the Douglas family's real family photos on the set, trying to show what a long wonderful life they have had together -- except none of the real photos are past 1951, when Kirk and Diana got divorced. Cloying and annoying. I felt uncomfortable, like they were trying to be some sort of Barrymore dynasty (Joel Douglas is an associate producer on this). The only thing missing is Catherine Zeta-Jones as his wife (although I loved Bernadette Peters in that role -- she is great!)
It is about dysfunctional families trying to figure out their lives together. This is a bad attempt to do what Woody Allen has mastered. Complete with being set in New York with jazzy music at the end. Ho hum. Some of the storylines are interesting -- Asher (Cameron) is a screw-up at college and he likes this preppy girl who you know likes him because she calls him "a monkey smeared in his own feces" when she first sees him. A lot of this character's slang seem to be from the 1980s. Who says anything is "awesome" anymore? I haven't heard that term used since 1985 (except in movies like this). The younger son (Rory Culkin) has probelms with the upcoming 6th grade dance. I think they should have had more kids in this family -- like Kieran and Macauley Culkin could have played brothers here too. That would have been cool! A lot of the storylines are so disjointed and they seem to be dropped and then inadvertently picked up again. Like Alex (Michael Douglas) trying to help a poor Latina woman whose building has been without heat and hot water for 3 months. I wuld think that would be important, but it is just barely touched upon.
Rating:
Summary: Family Business
Review: Three generations of the Douglas acting clan get together on screen for It Runs In The Family. A competant, yet at times, overdone family dramedy, that still could have used another script polish. The Grombergs are a highly successful New York family - except when it comes to communicating with each other. Mitchell Gromberg (Kirk Douglas), the patriarch, is having difficulty coming to terms with his own mortality. While his son, Alex (Michael Douglas), has spent his life trying not to repeat his father's mistakes. Alex's eldest son, Asher (Cameron Douglas), a rebellious college student, tries to cope with life, love, sex and rock and roll in today's confused society. As all three men struggle to find their way, and get along with one another, the women of the family, try to keep it all together. First, I must say that it was great to see Kirk Douglas back in front of the camera, after his stroke some years ago. He doesn't let his difficulties deter his performance. Son Michael seems a bit over the top at times, when it really wasn't called for. First timer Cameron gives an effective performance as a young man on the road to discovering who he is. Director Fred Schepisi doesn't really do anything special here. His technique is fairly by the numbers and seems better suited for television. The biggest flaw of the film is its script, credited to Jesse Wigutow, most of the characters are standard for a film of this type. The DVD contains an ok commentary from Schepisi, who speaks very eloquently of his generational cast. The making of feturette, called "Family Makes You Nuts: The Making of It Runs in the Family" is nothing more than what you would expect from something like this. Better realized is the classy documentary "All That Grit: Kirk Douglas and the Movies", an entertaining look back at his film career. A few wisely cut deleted scenes, a photo gallery, and the movie's theatrical trailer, top off the special features on the DVD. It Runs In The Family is watchable, despite problems, but clearly the Douglas trio deserve a better script, if they decide to work again
Rating:
Summary: Good cast/mediocre movie
Review: With Kirk and Michael Douglas leading the cast in a movie, it should have turned out much better than it did. They star as two of three generations of highly unlikeable men who are self-centered, self-indulgent and critical of everyone else. The best scenes do occur between father and son, but there are not enough of them to raise the level of this movie to more than just average. Their long-suffering wives are played by
Bernadette Peters and Kirk's real ex-wife, and are the only likeable ones in the picture. It's too bad that the Douglas talents are not used to better advantage, but they are limited by a weak script that cannot be propped up by acting talent. Better luck next time!
Rating: 
Summary: Cliched, Indulgent, depressing
Review: With the Douglas family and Bernadette Peters, I was looking forward to a great ensemble piece. I also noticed that it is described as a comedy. A good, intelligent comedy with what seemed to be a stellar cast was what I hoped to see. It is not a comedy - it is bleak and depressing. It is also cliched and indulgent. Many fragmented plot lines, no real story. The only characters I found to be tolerable where the two women of the family. The men seemed so one-dimensional, boorish and grating, there was little story to tell or little I even wanted to know about them. Even the women fit into the "long-suffering wife" cliche, which I found ridiculous. Also, as with the movie "About Schmidt (also erroneously advertised as a comedy - WHY?)," I didn't realize this movie was about family dynamics and the loss of a family member (at least as one of its many half-explored subplots). I recently lost a parent and wish I had never watched either of these films so soon after. If I had known before renting them, I wouldn't have. So, you should know. I felt both were a cliched, superficial and disrespectfully (though I'm sure unintentionally) callous regarding the experience of losing a parent. Took me a couple of days after to "recover" from the films. Someone suggested that this is a great film for the holidays. It defininitely is NOT if you recently have gone through this sort of loss. Beware. I stopped watching about 2/3 of the way through, something I rarely do, even with a film I don't particularly like.
Rating:
Summary: it runs in the family
Review: wonderful wonderful movie! Hilarious and at the same time poignant. What talented cast! God Bless you Kirk! and Michael too!
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