VideoDetective.com
It Runs In The Family (2003)
Released By: MGM Home Entertainment   Rating: PG-13   In Theaters: N/A
Your video will start shortly...



More Videos:
Preview Details
User Reviews
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Fred Schepisi
Language: English
Official Website: http://www.mgm.com/itrunsinthefamily/
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: 10/21/2003
Cast: Bernadette Peters, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Sarita Choudhury, Antonio D. Charity, Cameron Douglas
Published ID: 854397
UPC: 027616896544,
Plot: A family takes on the difficult task of learning how to get along with one another in this emotional comedy drama. Alex Gromberg (Michael Douglas) is a middle-aged man who feels caught in the middle of his familial obligations as he muddles he way through a midlife crisis. While a successful businessman, Alex sometimes still feels as if he's under the shadow of his father, Mitchell Gromberg (Kirk Douglas), a successful attorney whose skills in the courtroom outstripped his gifts as a parent. Elderly Mitchell has recently survived a stroke, and Alex and Mitchell want to mend their relationship while there's still time, but making it so proves difficult, even with Alex getting advice from his wife, psychologist Rebecca (Bernadette Peters), and Mitchell being prodded by his long-suffering wife, Evelyn (Diana Douglas). Alex is also trying to reach out to his two sons, who are as different as night and day; college student Asher (Cameron Douglas) is an aspiring club DJ who seems to be styling himself to bear no resemblance to his father, while 11-year-old Eli (Rory Culkin) is an overly serious lad who is having trouble navigating the first steps of adolescence. It Runs in the Family marked the first time Kirk Douglas acted in a film with his son Michael Douglas; adding to the family atmosphere was Michael's son Cameron Douglas, working with his family for the first time, and Diana Douglas, Kirk's former wife and Michael's mother. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
Family Movie
Added 12/18/2007

A great family movie; inspiring, humorous, dramatic. It makes one to reflect at himself/herself, life, past memories, and choices made.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
More than just a film about I.B.S.
Added 11/12/2006

I watched "Spartacus," and I thought, if Spartacus were transported to 1960s America, what kind of kid would he have. I figured he'd be like Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street." So, I watched that film. Then I noticed Martin Sheen's Union rep is a lot like Spartacus -- he even says the only difference between slaves who built the pyramids and the guys who build skyscrapers is the skyscraper builders had unions. Both films end on a sour note. Afterwards, I thought, Michael D. and his father need to make up or something bad is going to happen. So I checked out "It Runs in the Family" to see if there was anything I could do. In this context -- watching two generations of Douglases work out their differences so the third generation of Douglases wouldn't be as screwed up -- my interest was held. The film runs a little long, and I wouldn't recommend it to people not actively trying to deal with their own family issues -- they'll probably get bored.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
Not worth seeing
Added 11/17/2005

This is the worst Micheal Douglas Movie I saw so far. It is about a dysfunctional Famliy. it has little comedy in it un like others that have dysfunctional families. it is downright boring.
1 out of 4 people found this helpful.
Boring and shallow
Added 5/5/2005

There is nothing funny and entertaining about this movie. It is about three generations of a dysfunctional family. Kirk Douglas is extremely unlikable and Michael Douglas is no more appealing. The movie drags on and on about family problems that are purely depressing.
3 out of 6 people found this helpful.
Drivel
Added 3/7/2005

Have you ever wondered why high-priced, high roller and powerful actors take on roles in bad movies? That's the question you'll ask yourself if you watch this drivel.

Perhaps the answer is three generations of Douglases -- Kirk, Michael and Cameron -- appear in "It Runs in the Family". The two older Douglases play Jewish (Gromberg) lawyers (Kirk a retired former partner now overcoming a stroke) while son Asher (Cameron) is a slacker attending college. The cast includes Bernadette Peters as Michael's wife and Rory Culkin and their younger son.

My onscreen guide said the movie was taken from a short story by the guy that wrote "Christmas Story" and was supposed to be a followup on that success based on memories of the pre-teen son, which would be Culkin. Whomever wrote that never saw this movie!

This script was apparently about family dysfunction, since the dad wants to do the nasty with a woman he knows from a soup kitchen, the college boy can't keep his pants on and ends up in trouble with the cops over drugs, and the younger son also has a romantic entanglement with a skag he knows from school. The old man's wife dies, too, pushing him into Michael's disheveled household.

This sounds formulaic except the formula doesn't work. Instead of being drawn into the lives of these losers, you laugh at the silly predicaments created for them by the awkward script. There is hardly a moment in the entire film that represents anything remotely close to real family life. Every moment seems to be taken over by one calamity or another, usually of the male Douglases creation.

For me, this was a memorable film in a negative way. If Michael Douglas made $20 million for this movie, the people that bankrolled this turkey should ask for a 95 percent refund. For, in addition to the movie being a loser, Michael Douglas is badly out of shape in it with a big gut that sticks out. So much for the beautiful people, eh?

Unless you are a Douglas film completist or totally dedicated to seeing something starring a bunch of family members, steer clear of this bomb. It is funny, agreed, but not in positive ways.

5 out of 7 people found this helpful.
Family Movie
Added 12/18/2007

A great family movie; inspiring, humorous, dramatic. It makes one to reflect at himself/herself, life, past memories, and choices made.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
More than just a film about I.B.S.
Added 11/12/2006

I watched "Spartacus," and I thought, if Spartacus were transported to 1960s America, what kind of kid would he have. I figured he'd be like Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street." So, I watched that film. Then I noticed Martin Sheen's Union rep is a lot like Spartacus -- he even says the only difference between slaves who built the pyramids and the guys who build skyscrapers is the skyscraper builders had unions. Both films end on a sour note. Afterwards, I thought, Michael D. and his father need to make up or something bad is going to happen. So I checked out "It Runs in the Family" to see if there was anything I could do. In this context -- watching two generations of Douglases work out their differences so the third generation of Douglases wouldn't be as screwed up -- my interest was held. The film runs a little long, and I wouldn't recommend it to people not actively trying to deal with their own family issues -- they'll probably get bored.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
Not worth seeing
Added 11/17/2005

This is the worst Micheal Douglas Movie I saw so far. It is about a dysfunctional Famliy. it has little comedy in it un like others that have dysfunctional families. it is downright boring.
1 out of 4 people found this helpful.
Photos


There are currently no photos.
Shopping
IDPriceImageUrlPurchaseUrlIdTypeBindingStore
DVD
$13.49 @ Amazon
VHS
$1.02 @ Amazon
DVD
$44.10 @ Amazon
Video On Demand
$2.99 @ Amazon
Video On Demand
$9.99 @ Amazon