Everybody's Fine

DeNiro learns about family in ‘Everybody’s Fine’

ROBERT DeNIRO and Drew Barrymore in "Everybody's Fine."

I really don’t understand why “Everybody’s Fine” didn’t get for a Best Picture nomination this past year..
This is a heartfelt, emotional slice-of-life picture with Robert DeNiro starring as an aging, retired widower trying to stay in touch with his children.
DeNiro is the mild-mannered every dad whose wife recently died. Their four children are grown and live in far-flung areas of the country. Wife kept the family going and shielded DeNiro’s character, Frank Goode, from the bad stuff.
Frank placed coatings on telephone utility lines in a factory and breathing in the fumes caused lung damage. The telephone theme is used extensively in the film, as three of the children talk amongst themselves.
The film opens with Frank sweeping the floors, doing the dishes, dusting, mowing, all of the domestic chores.
He’s also getting ready for his four children to come for a visit. The grocery store steaks on sale aren’t good enough for his kids. Frank wants something better.
He buys a $600 grill that lets just enough oxygen in to burn the fat on the meat.
He wants a special wine so he asks the clueless clerk what to buy. “We have Italian wines from all over Europe,” the clerk replies.
Ah but slowly each child comes up with a lame excuse for not coming home for the big event.
Each has his or her secret and one of the kids, an artist, is in a Mexican hospital, being held by police on drug charges.
When the kids don’t come to Frank, Frank decides to head out by bus to visit them. His children work hard to make it look like each is successful and everybody is fine, thus the title.
The visits are supposed to be a surprise. He ends up at the apartment of his artist’s son, not knowing he is in bad shape in Mexico. After a couple of days with the son not showing up, he’s off to visit a daughter, played by Kate Beckinsale.
Her character, Amy, is a high-powered advertising executive. She lives in a beautiful house with a moody son and supposedly a driven husband.
Frank wants to say awhile, but Amy offers excuses as to why he cannot and off he goes to the next child, musician Robert, played by Sam Rockwell. He’s one of the most forthright of the children. Frank thinks he’s the conductor of an orchestra. Robert is merely a percussionist. It’s an easy job, less stress, he likes it, he tells Dad. Frank is disappointed but wants to stay a few days. Robert lies and says he’s heading to Europe that night. He just can’t stand the idea of hanging with Dad.
Throughout the film, those buzzing phone lines are a character, as the kids talk amongst themselves, planning how to handle Dad and keep him from knowing about the brother in Mexico.
Drew Barrymore plays Rosie. She lets Dad think she is a successful dancer in Las Vegas. She meets him in a stretch limo and takes him to her supposed huge, elite apartment.
But Frank isn’t stupid. He questions these stories.
This time he decides to cut short the visit and fly home. Frank doesn’t like to fly and a would-be mugger crushed his medication. On the plane, Frank has a heart attack and figures out the truth while talking to his offspring when they were children in a dream sequence while he is in a coma.
We are used to seeing DeNiro in bigger-than-life roles. But he plays the common man very well.
This is an excellent, realistic story about potentially real people and how they conduct their lives.
These are people you can relate to. Great story, great actors. It’s well plotted. Well put together. Well worth pursuing.

EVERYBODY’S FINE
• Runtime: 99 minutes • Rated PG-13, some language • 4 starts out of 4