EVERYBODY’S FINE (USA 2009) ***
Directed by Kirk Jones

Almost 20 years since Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore (famous for CINEMA PARADISO) made his second movie STABBO TUTTI BENE (or EVERYBODY’S FINE), Hollywood has come up with the remake in time for the holidays.

Tornatore was well known for making really tear-jerking films.  One might probably guess that Brit director Kirk Jones (the Irish comedy WAKING NED) might have done away with the sentiment but no.  In fact Jones ups the sappiness factor (even from the opening song), so audiences should be forewarned to bring lots of Kleenex.

The story concerns widower Frank (Robert De Niro).  When his 4 children fail to show up for a family reunion dinner, he decides to pay each of them a surprise visit.  But they do not have time for him – but worse lie to him about it.  Frank is no idiot and puts two and two together but not before he suffers from a heart attack do things come to an amicable solution.  Lots of family devotions, expectations and such!  Take this sample dialogue of Frank to one son: “I want you to be an artist so that your painting changes lives.”

Tornatore’s film benefited from a protagonist wearing thick glasses serving as a metaphor for being blind both physically and mentally around him.  De Niro does well in a subdued role but the original film’s dream sequences and nostalgia is missing in Jones’ film.  But this version is lighter and the adaptation to the U.S. setting works well, especially since Americans are always busy and most American families live miles apart.

The stellar cast that includes Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell as the children help divert the film from the narrow storyline.  EVERYBODY’S FINE is well made and turns out to be a good old-fashioned weepie, but nothing more than that.