''It Runs in the Family'' is a

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ; Kael, Pauline (1984). '' Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter. His credits include '' The Chant of Jimmie ...

and starring three generations of the Douglas family:

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...

, his son

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

, and Michael's son

Cameron Douglas Cameron Morrell Douglas (born December 13, 1978) is an American actor. Early life and family Douglas is the elder son of actor Michael Douglas and Diandra Morrell Douglas (née Luker), and grandson of actor Kirk Douglas and Bermudan actress ...

, who play three generations of a family. Diana Douglas ( Dill), real-life mother to Michael Douglas and ex-wife of Kirk, plays Kirk's character's wife. Joel Douglas, second son of Kirk and Diana, was the associate producer.

Plot

The story involves the highly successful New York City Gromberg family. Each member has their own set of problems. The father-son relationship difficulties are highlighted. Mitchell Gromberg is dealing with health problems resulting from a stroke. His son Alex works as a lawyer in the firm that his father founded, but he questions the usefulness of his work and his place in the family. Alex's son, Asher, does not take college seriously and seems lost. The youngest son is 11 year old Eli, who is extremely intelligent, while being socially awkward and is entering a difficult pre-adolescent time. Alex indulges in a thoughtless and careless brief romantic fling with Suzie at the soup kitchen where they volunteer. Psychologist wife Rebecca discovers panties and it threatens their marriage. When Evelyn Gromberg, Mitchell's wife and Alex's mother dies, the family comes together to heal. At Evelyn's funeral in suburban New York, Rebecca tells Alex that she knows about his romantic fling. Alex, Mitchell and Asher go fishing to talk about old wounds but nothing gets resolved. At college Asher is discovered with illegal drugs. Although devastated, Rebecca and Alex are supportive parents and vow to get help for Asher. He wants his girlfriend Peg protected. Mitchell's older brother Stephen dies. Alex and Mitchell give him a fine send-off and farewell. Back at home Alex is forced to sleep on the living room couch but Rebecca agrees to reconciliation terms.

Cast

as Alex Gromberg *

as Mitchell Gromberg *

Rory Culkin Rory Hugh Culkin (born July 21, 1989) is an American actor who is known for his roles in '' Scream 4'', '' Lords of Chaos'', '' You Can Count on Me'', ''Columbus'', and M. Night Shyamalan's '' Signs''. He is the younger brother of actors Macaulay ...

as Eli Gromberg *

as Asher Gromberg * Diana Dill aka Diana Douglas as Evelyn Gromberg * Bernadette Peters as Rebecca Gromberg *

Michelle Monaghan Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( ; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress, best known for her starring roles in ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), '' Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), '' Made of Honor'' (2008), '' Eagle Eye'' (2008), '' Trucker'' (2008), ''Sou ...

as Peg Maloney *

Geoffrey Arend Geoffrey Rashid Arend (born February 28, 1978) is an American film, television, voice and theater actor. He is best known for his role as Ethan Gross on the ABC drama series ''Body of Proof'', Matt Mahoney on the CBS political drama series '' M ...

as Malik *

Sarita Choudhury Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury (born 18 August 1966) is a British actress, known for her role as Mina in the Mira Nair-directed feature film '' Mississippi Masala'' (1991). Choudhury has played roles in American and international films and te ...

as Suzie * Irene Gorovaia as Abby Staley *

Annie Golden Annie Golden (born October 19, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She first came to prominence as the lead singer of the punk band the Shirts from 1975 to 1981 with whom she recorded three albums. She began her acting career as Mother in t ...

as Deb *Mark Hammer as Stephen Gromberg *

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

as Sarah Langley * Josh Pais as Barney * Louie Torrellas as Jeremy * Adrian Martinez as Mitchell's Doorman

Production

In his role as producer, Michael Douglas suggested his mother (Diana Dill), Rory Culkin, and Bernadette Peters for their roles. Fred Schepisi noted that they were originally considering

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...

for the part of Michael's wife. "Bernadette eterswas a really nice balance, playing straighter than you’d usually see her play..." Total gross was $7,491,839.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an approval rating of 28% and an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's consensus states, "Despite its gimmick casting, the movie ultimately goes nowhere." Critic Steven Holden wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that the film is a "surprisingly complex and subtle portrait", and "Besides its laudable reluctance to tie up loose ends, the most courageous thing about ''It Runs in the Family'' is its refusal to try to make you love its aggressive, strong-willed characters."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

wrote: "But the movie is simply not clear about where it wants to go and what it wants to do. It is heavy on episode and light on insight, and although it takes courage to bring up touchy topics it would have taken more to treat them frankly."Ebert, Roge
"'It Runs In The Family'"
''Chicago Sun-Times'', April 25, 2003

References

External links