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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)

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Reviews Counted:96

Fresh:27

Rotten:69

Average Rating:4.5/10

Consensus: Despite its gimmick casting, the movie ultimately goes nowhere.

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Genre: Dramas

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... 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]

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

Starring: Michael Douglas, Rory Culkin, Diana Douglas, Bernadette Peters, Kirk Douglas, Cameron Douglas, Michelle Monaghan

Director: Fred Schepisi

Director: Fred Schepisi
Screenwriter: Jesse Wigutow
Producer: Michael Keaton, Michael Douglas
Composer: Paul Grabowsky
Studio: MGM/UA

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Reviews for It Runs in the Family

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
09/03/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/01/03
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

They must have made an intimidating pair because all during production no one had the courage to tell them that It Runs in the Family stinks.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
04/29/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

'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 Source: Moviola | comment Comment
10/02/03
Jorge Avila Andrade
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola

... indistinct, uneventful and amiably dull.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
04/24/03
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

While it may not be off the hinges, It Runs in the Family is disarming enough that you won't exit the theater doors feeling like you've been hoodwinked.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
04/24/03
Mack Bates
Mack Bates
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Three generations of the Kirk Douglas family strain against mawkish material about a dysfunctional family that ties up all its loose ends in 109 cringe-worthy minutes.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
04/25/03
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News

A pretty unpalatable blend of syrup and formaldehyde-basted turkey.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
04/25/03
Mary Brennan
Mary Brennan
Seattle Times

You'll suddenly remember why you always tried to avoid going next door to watch the neighbor's Kodak 8 mm home movies on the Bell and Howell projector.

Full Review Source: Houston Community Newspapers | comment Comment
04/25/03
Gary Brown
Gary Brown
Houston Community Newspapers

The Douglas clan's answer to the Fondas' On Golden Pond might easily have been called On Golden Turkey.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
04/30/03
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Gives a worthwhile reminder that it is in the little details of life that parents, grandparents and children find enough sturdy moments of hope, happiness and bravery to make meaning.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
04/24/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

This one's for your parents, your grandparents, and the entire state of Florida.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
04/25/03
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

Despite rich acting and expert direction, the two grids don't snap neatly together.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
04/25/03
Bob Campbell
Bob Campbell
Newark Star-Ledger

It Runs in the Family never quite transcends its movie-of-the-week trappings. But either you're glad to have spent time with these three generations or you aren't.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
04/24/03
Mark Caro
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune

Five years from now this will be remembered as the most expensive home movie ever made by a family. The DVD will look great on the Douglas family shelf - but God knows it won't be on anybody else's.

Full Review Source: Countingdown.com | comment Comment
04/28/03
Larry Carroll
Larry Carroll
Countingdown.com

Bland doesn't even scratch the surface of this mess that makes schmaltz look like Strindberg by comparison.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/27/03
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

The script is terrible, there's no plot to speak of, and within the meager what passes for a plot are a ridiculous number of holes.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
04/24/03
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

A family freakshow complete with legless crooners, extreme flatulence gags, and Michael shrugging in a "he's so crazy" sort of way at Kirk's crusty bon mots.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/24/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

'I never want to see you again' ranks amongst the top three lines that perfectly describe Jesse Wigutow’s screenplay. The other two being 'Could you possibly be more unappealing?' and 'You didn’t exactly set the bar all that high.'

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/24/03
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

Jesse Wigutow’s mostly flaccid script provides a few memorable showdown scenes between father Kirk and son Michael.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/25/03
Paul Clinton (Boxoffice)
Paul Clinton (Boxoffice)
Boxoffice Magazine
 
 
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