Rating: 
Summary: Forget the book...see the movie
Review: Sometimes a film should be taken on its own merit and not compared to the book on which it was based. A film by nature creates a fixed reality not subject to the imagination of its viewers, so comparisons will always fall short. This film is full of quiet beauty and captures moments of honest, deep emotions, and, regardless of possible variances from the memoir by Franz (Steven) Lidz and Uncle Danny's unfortunate similarities to "Kramer" from "Seinfeld", it is heartbreaking, life-affirming, and satisfying film experience.Diane Keaton's first feature length not-made-for-TV directorial debut is a poignant and often humorous story. Young Steven Lidz (Nathan Watt) is a normal boy growing up during the Cold War with his sister, mother, and his slightly quirky father. The father, Sid (John Turturro), is excitable about science and his visions of a techno-topian future, endlessly inventing household gadgets, but he's also a romantic and deeply loves his wife Selma (Andie MacDowell). Those future visions are blurred when Selma's health begins to wane. Unable to cope with the slow demise of his mother, Steven runs away to stay with an odd pair of uncles, who seem to be two extremes of his father. Uncle Danny (Michael Richards) is high-strung and sees anti-semitic conspiracies everywhere, while uncle Arthur (Maury Chaykin) is child-like and finds joy in the simplest of things (he collects lost balls in the park because he believes, if you listen closely as with seashells, you can hear the sound of the children who played with them). There's a hilarious scene where the landlord sees the three outside the building and begins to chase after them; they escape to the apartment as if their lives were being threatened by a raging grizzly bear. The strange, inventive, and sometimes playful, behavior of Steven's uncles is distracting enough to keep him from brooding about his mother's last days. Instead of filling him with paranoia and neurosis, however, his uncles teach Steven about faith and family and the joys of life. Thomas Newman's ("American Beauty") music is perfectly suited to this bittersweet film. In fact, I bought the soundtrack CD after watching the film for the first time. By the way...the reviews by "a viewer" from Evanston and "fred q. walrustitty" have absolutely nothing to do with the film, and it's likely the reviewers wrote them as a joke. Unfortunately, 11 out of 15 people believed them and found them helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Turns Literary Champagne into Cinematic Kool-Aide
Review: The previous reviewer from Tempe, Ariz. seems to be one of those film studies majors who has never set foot in a bookstore. The book was hysterically funny and full of all sorts of deeply-felt observations about life and family. The film is a sugary confection made for mass consumption that insults viewer and reader alike with its reliance on knee-jerk sentiment and silly capers. What an opportunity missed! The book was dark and subversive, the apaptation is honeyed and hackneyed.
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Summary: Doesn't Approach the Book's Genius On Any Level
Review: The psychedelic era's silliest secret agent is resurrected in a world that's moved on three decades. John Turturro (as Sidney Lidz) gets so much of the detail right, it's easy to take his resourcefulness for granted. Everything, from Sidney's velvet frock coats and frilly shirts to the casting (Andi McDowell's slinky sidekick Vanessa Kensington, scheming henchman Richards, and Watt's Basil Exposition, the Ministry Man who explains the plot) demonstrate how much Turturro, the creator of Barton Fink, enjoyed doing his homework. Someone, however, should have weeded out the dud gags and dissuaded Turturro from playing the villian (Ash) as well. Overall, it would take a stone face not to crumple at Sidney's dodgy catchphrases and irrepressible sexual desperation. "Shall we shag now, or shag later?" Soon, baby, soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumb Watering-Down of a Terrific Memoir
Review: The review by the Beverly Hills psychiatrist below is a classic example of some PhD jamming the plot contrivances of a hokey Hollywood script into a set of pop shrink principles learned in Psych 101. What a hoot! Anybody who reads the book will see that the screenwriter was just trying to fit a difficult, multi-layered story into pat Disney formula, not grasp for Higher Meaning. As it is, the film is a huge disappointment: Where the book was acute and subversive and clear-headed, the movie is dull, reactionary and blubberingly sentimental. This is strictly filmmaking-by-the-numbers. Director Diane Keaton pushes all the same buttons Sylvester Stallone did in Rocky: She avoids depth and ambuiguity for calculation and apparent niavete. The amazing thing is that Prozac-dispensing Brainiacs like Dr. Beverly Hills buy into all this hooey. Or maybe it's not amazing at all.
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Summary: another( ) of the 007 flicks
Review: This cliched action movie is good for popcorn, but little else. It's gagging sweetness (which reminds me of cough syrup) did not cure my cold, or Andi Mcdowell's, for that matter. The hero (WATT) makes plenty of good wisecracks, but he's no Sean Connery, and there's little nudity... Where's my ( ) at?
Rating:
Summary: A touching, heartwarming film
Review: This film touched my heart! The innocence of childhood (or boyhood) and a rude awakening, a caring and beautiful mother, a fascinating, strong father, an adorable little sister, two eccentric Uncles (who aren't short on love for the kid) - all of these combine to create a great story. A lot of the reviewers here seem to have been let down by the fact that the film did not do justice to the book or the understanding of "Jewishness" or New York... But really, this movie is about heart. And there's plenty of it in every scene.
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Summary: Our entire family loved the movie...and we bought it, too.
Review: This is a movie like none other. I suppose it helps to come from a dysfunctional family to really understand the many layers of this movie. The entire extended family is as nutty as a fruitcake and then there are two crazy uncles, flawlessly cast, by the way, and we have Mom and Dad struggling tirelessly to give their two children some sense of normalcy and lots of love and attention. The parents greatest fear is that the kids will end up screwed up and strange like the rest of the family, but then...well, I don't want to give it away. Just remember - Documentation is everything. This movie is not about life in Hollywood - it's about life in a real family. Exxagerated a wee bit perhaps, but at least it hints of realism. I loved this movie. It is funny and dear and enchanting and it will make you laugh out loud and also make you a little teary eyed. It's among my top 25 favorite movies of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing like the book
Review: This is a very well-made movie but it is nothing like the original book. The movie has elements of the book, but it has an all-together different feel to it, almost a diltuion of the story. Of course, as has been said, the book will always be better, but the film (directed by Diane Keaton) stands on its own.
I would recommend if you've read the book, see the movie only as a visual representation. If you've seen the movie and would like a wider appreciation of the movie, read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Can't believe anyone could give this junk over 2 stars!
Review: This is just a fragment on what really happened! The real story wasn't about a sick old, beautiful mother!There were four uncles and one father the movie didn't even mention Franz Lidz's life! Ash was a mean awful boy, not some regular teenager! I would give this 1 star but I love the book, so I have to give it a little credit. But I agree -- read the book!
Rating:
Summary: A parable of modern life
Review: This is one of my favorite, all-time movies. I have read the book and while the book is probably more accurate in recounting the actual family experiences, the movie can be seen as a parable reflecting some of the cultural tensions today. The mother, who represents humanism, is dying, leaving behind the scientific method (the father) who is eccentric because he is less than human. The mother and father balance one another. The son is an everyman figure, imitating his father at times, but also taking on the warm, humanistic tone of his mother at times. The recording of experiences with the camera is perhaps the memory of the boy, seeing the injustice of life (the caretaker) but also the warmth of his mother and the craziness of science without the human component. The boy eventually goes to live with his uncles, who represent postmodern thought--a little crazy, sometimes paranoid, and open to religion (the father is anti-religious, while the mother is open to the more positive aspects of religion, as is often the case with their respective views of the world). With his uncles, the boy tries on their roles of paranoia and craziness, as well as religion, and finds the fit is not too bad, injecting some scientism borrowed from his father to avoid the apartment owner. The death of his mother brings the symbolic throwing away the home-made movies of the mother by the father--the attempt to erase the memories of humanism, but the boy grabs the tapes and takes them to the synagog to relive the memories of his mother. It seems that religion provides one last place to feel deeply in modern life, since humanism is so quickly vanishing. The last scene is deeply moving, as the camera (again recording life and existence) has the father, son, and uncles united, as a humanized science allows companionship with postmodern thought because of the everyman's acceptance of both. Funniest scene--in the restaurant. This is a classic moment, regarding the multiple meanings of words an the individual's "take" on life (a very postmodern concept). I hope it comes out on DVD one of these days. I have watched the movie many, many times, and almost every time I see a bit more of the parable coming to the forefront. That seems to be the result of the film version (whether intentional or not), as the parable does not fit the original book. A great film; it should have received awards for many more things than just the music! Don Ratcliff, Ph.D.
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