Movie Review: The Family
The Family is absolutely disappointing. I was expecting some incredible magic with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro together again. Sadly, it was not to be. You could, of course, sense the old chemistry that they once shared, but all in all it was just one complete letdown. As I would absolutely love to see De Niro play a gangster again in a serious format, I keep hoping that he will give us something from his earlier days, something crazy and hard-hitting. In my opinion comedy is not where he excels.
Nevertheless, the Manzoni family is placed in the witness protection program after Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro) rats out his Mafioso family. Robert Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) is the FBI agent in charge of the well being of the Manzonis. They are moved to Normandy, France, under nearly constant surveillance. Adjusting to the discrete way of life they are supposed to have does not come easily for any of them. Giovanni’s son Warren (John D’Leo) soon turns to his old bullying/money making shenanigans that once proved so successful in his New York high school. Daughter Belle (Dianna Agron) also finds it difficult to not use her self-defense background to take care of kids that try to take advantage of her. Michelle Pfeiffer as wife Maggie is also reverting back to the wife of a tough-guy by blowing up the French grocery store that doesn’t treat her with the utmost respect. Giovanni is also struggling to conform and inadvertently lets the next door neighbor believe that he is a writer; which is true since he is, against all attempts by FBI agent Stansfield to dissuade him, writing his memoirs as a form of therapy. Gio also finds himself using baseball bats and bombs on those that have the great misfortune of pushing his buttons. Alas, the mafia does end up finding the family in hiding and there is an all out war on the streets of Normandy.
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For mafia movie fans, The Family is a big letdown, and I encourage you to keep your memories intact regarding wise-guy films. There are of course a couple of good one-liners here and there, but overall, just say no. The writing is not thought out, the direction is poor, and the premise is nothing to expound upon.
Betsy Cizek
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