The Family

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
 The Family
Released 9/13/13, now in theaters

French action director extraordinaire, Luc Besson, brings The Family to the big screen this weekend.  Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer lead the cast that tells the tale of the Maznoni family.  Besson is not known for comedy, so, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  The trailers did show a certain amount of hilarity, so, I was willing to give the director the benefit of the doubt.

Giovanni Maznoni (DeNiro) is a former mafia boss who was placed in the Witness Protection Program with his family several years ago after his actions sent a Don Luchese to prison.  Under the supervision of FBI Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones), Giovanni, his wife, Maggie (Pfeiffer), his daughter, Belle (Dianna Agron), and his son, Warren (John D'Leo), have been relocated several times due to their mob tendencies exposing them to danger.  This latest relocation lands the family in Normandy, France, under the fake identities of the Blakes.  It isn't long before the Blakes are up to their old habits from Maggie blowing up the local supermarket to Warren wheeling and dealing in several shady commodities at school.  These and other unfortunate events once again draw unwanted attention to the family.  It brings so much attention that Don Luchese's hitmen are able to catch up to them once more leading to a huge confrontation the "Blakes" may not survive.

Unfortunately, The Family might have been a very good action thriller if Besson had gone in that direction.  If anything, I think this establishes that Besson isn't as adept at comedy.  I would call The Family mildly amusing at best.  The funniest parts of the film are seen in the trailer.  It just didn't push the envelope enough on the comedy in my opinion. 

There were also parts that didn't fit the characters' personalities.  Take Belle, for example.  She becomes involved (very involved) with a college student teaching at her school.  After he rejects her, she makes preparations to commit suicide.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  It's a typical teenage overreaction to a stressful situation.  The only problem is the audience sees Belle easily dispatching a teenage boy who "wants to get to know her better" with a tennis racket, beating another girl mercilessly for stealing from her, and going into complete Terminator mode in the finale when the hitmen enter the Blakes' home.  This is a girl who would fret to point of becoming suicidal because she gave her virginity to a jerk?  I didn't buy it.  Somehow, I would think a mobster's daughter would be a little more worldly and together. 

As for the other main actors, Robert DeNiro was good as the family patriarch who seems slightly guilt-ridden about his past (although he will never admit it). It's a good performance, but nothing you haven't seen him do in his many mafia driven movies of the past.  Michelle Pfeiffer is amusing as Maggie.  She tries so hard to be normal, but, those mafia tendencies of dealing harshly with things that annoy you keep coming to the surface.  Tommy Lee Jones gives his usual dialog of biting sarcasm, but, it just seems like he's searching for something to do here.  He's a bit of an afterthought.

Overall, The Family is a decent watch.  I was just expecting to like it more based on the trailers.  It changes tone several times and the pieces don't fit neatly all the time.  You'll enjoy yourself more if you don't pay theater prices.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

*** stars

Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.