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MOVIES / ON DVD / IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
It Runs in the Family

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It Runs in the Family (2003)

28%
40%
37%
N/A
N/A
N/A
28 %
Reviews Counted: 96 Fresh: 27  Rotten:69 Average Rating: 4.5/10
 
Consensus: Despite its gimmick casting, the movie ultimately goes nowhere.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Synopsis: Some families can survive everything. Even each other. The Grombergs are a highly successful family – except when it comes to communicating with each other. Alex Gromberg (Michael Douglas) is a man caught in the middle. Navigating the tricky, ever-changing roles of father, son,... Some families can survive everything. Even each other. The Grombergs are a highly successful family – except when it comes to communicating with each other. Alex Gromberg (Michael Douglas) is a man caught in the middle. Navigating the tricky, ever-changing roles of father, son, and husband, he’s trying to avoid the mistakes his father made while coming to terms with the ones he’s already passed on to his own sons. Alex’s wife, Rebecca (Bernadette Peters), is a psychologist trying to balance a professional life with her marriage and raising her kids. Mitchell Gromberg (Kirk Douglas), the patriarch and a retired partner of one of New York’s leading law firms, is having difficulty coming to grips with his mortality. Evelyn (Diana Douglas) is his devoted wife and has been his emotional rock throughout their marriage – and the peacemaker between him and Alex. Asher Gromberg (Cameron Douglas), Alex’s eldest son, is a rebellious college student trying to cope with life, love, and sex in a confused society. And Eli (Rory Culkin), Alex’s 11-year old, is perhaps the "oldest" and most levelheaded of all the Gromberg men. Three generations of an American family, they all live separate lives, each in their own dysfunctional way. But every once in awhile, there comes a time to come together – to celebrate, to laugh, to fight, to cry, and to care for each other. Onscreen together for the first time in their careers, Academy Award-winners Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas join real-life relations Cameron Douglas and Diana Douglas, along with Bernadette Peters and Rory Culkin, to tell a story about the loving, frustrating, and ultimately inescapable bonds of family. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Buena Vista International present Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas in It Runs in the Family, a Furthur Films production of a Fred Schepisi film. Directed by Schepisi and written by Jesse Wigutow, the film also stars Rory Culkin, Cameron Douglas, Diana Douglas, Michelle Monaghan, and Bernadette Peters. Produced by Michael Douglas, It Runs in the Family was executive produced by Schepisi and Kerry Orent, with Marcy Drogin as co-producer and Joel Douglas as associate producer. The production team includes director of photography Ian Baker, production designer Patrizia Von Brandenstein, editor Kate Williams, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, composer Paul Grabowsky, and music supervisor Susan Jacobs. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Michael Douglas, Rory Culkin, Diana Douglas, Bernadette Peters, Kirk Douglas

Director: Fred Schepisi
Screenwriter: Jesse Wigutow
Producer: Michael Keaton, Michael Douglas
Composer: Paul Grabowsky

DVD Info

Release:

Jul 1, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Stereo Surround - French, Spanish
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Alternate Scenes - Deleted Scenes
  • Audio Commentary - Fred Schepisi - Director
  • Behind the Scenes - "Making of IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY"
  • Documentaries - Kirk Douglas Documentary

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
10/01/03
Guardian [UK]
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1/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
09/03/03
Jamie Russell
BBC
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Ratings Image
71/100

Even though it flaunts its wealth, It Runs in the Family is a worthy tribute to all things Douglas.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/07/04
Ryan Cracknell
Apollo Guide
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
02/25/04
Teresa Seeger
Zap2it.com
Ratings Image
N/A

Like those family albums you take out of the drawer every so often...a collection of fairly bland scenes that mean a lot more to the people in the picture than anyone else.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/01/03
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
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4/10

For what passes as a story, it's bickering and sniping, followed by outright hostility.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/21/03
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
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2.5/4

'Tiene el grave defecto de un guión mal estructurado, que desaprovecha el talento de los protagonistas con diálogos poco creíbles y algunas situaciones forzadas'

Full Review | comment Comment
10/02/03
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
08/30/03
Sydney Morning Herald
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2.5/4

It seems as though the Douglas' were desperate to work together so they didn't bother going out to find a quality film.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/15/03
Josh Gilchrist
rec.arts.movies.reviews
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
07/08/03
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY
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1.5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
06/15/03
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Ratings Image
N/A

. . . few audience members will find something in the mélange of clichéd and clever ideas that doesn’t personally resonate at some level. It Runs In the Family knows the words, but not the music. . .

Full Review | comment Comment
05/30/03
Todd Gilchrist
FilmStew.com
Ratings Image
1.5/4

To show up to the set everyday must have been a chore in itself, but to actually read some of these lines and play some of these scenes with the little-to-no direction they seem to have received is a sign of true dedication.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/27/03
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies
Ratings Image
2/4

Endearing moments battle with forced melodrama to produce a muddled family portrait both tiresome and tender.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Tyler Hanley
Palo Alto Weekly
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1.5/4

Doesn't even rise to the level of a daytime soap opera.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/03/03
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
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N/A

By the end of the film we also expect some closure; satisfaction in knowing that the Gromberg family is going to be okay. This conclusion never comes and we are left wondering whether the family will indeed persevere.

comment Comment
05/03/03
Josh Gilchrist
Billings Outpost (Montana)
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C-

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Full Review | comment Comment
05/03/03
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
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0/10

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Full Review | comment Comment
05/02/03
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
05/02/03
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye
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N/A

A funny, articulate, imperfect, sometimes messy, often infuriatingly sentimental, but always caring and spirited movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/01/03
Rex Reed
New York Observer
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• It Runs in the Family at Rotten Tomatoes
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