Everybody's Fine

I watched this movie on Thanksgiving day. I was just looking for something to bide my time. I thought I'd heard a bit about it in passing but couldn't really remember for sure. I saw Robert De Niro, Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale on the first-billed list and thought, "how bad could it be?"

I'm so glad I spent the time to watch it. In a role far removed from most anything he's ever done, De Niro is wonderful as a widower (Frank Goode) reaching out to his children.

After his wife's death, he realizes that she was his only connection to the rest of his family and despite his ailing health he embarks on a cross-country trip to visit his kids.

None of his surprise visits turn out as planned. The viewer can figure out what's going on in the meantime given the behind-the-scenes phone conversations between three of Frank's children.

There's something amiss, as there has always been because Frank's children always told their mother everything, and their father nothing.

But by the end, Frank gets his happy ending, and so do we.