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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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101 - 107 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Have you ever been stuck at someone else's family reunion?

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
04/24/03
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

Have you ever been stuck at someone else's family reunion?

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
04/24/03
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

An urban cousin of 'On Golden Pond' that sinks under the weight of all the banal domestic tragicomedy it's forced to bear.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
04/24/03
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

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

Fred Schepisi directs like a ringmaster for hire from a therapy-session script by Jesse Wigutow.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/23/03
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

Pure bland.

Full Review Source: KBTV-NBC (Beaumont, TX) | comment Comment
04/22/03
Danny Minton
Danny Minton
KBTV-NBC (Beaumont, TX)

Director Fred Schepisi's painstakingly paced approach to screenwriter Jess Wigutow's already weighty material makes for a strained viewing experience.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/21/03
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
101 - 107 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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