The Family
When it comes to mobsters, it’s all about family. Mob families specialize in violence, epic showdowns and big hair with big secrets.
They don’t do normal, which is the main problem with Luc Besson’s action-comedy “The Family” Mob families are anything but normal, so why try to make them something they’re not?
The film follows mobster Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro, of course) and his family as they relocate to live a “normal” life under the Witness Protection Program after he snitched on his fellow kingpins.
The family itself, known as the Blakes, includes his tough wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and his teenage children: daughter Belle (Dianna Agron) and son Warren (John D’Leo.)
The problem with “The Family” is that despite a strong family dynamic, the plot is dead on arrival. The focus on the Manzonis’ attempts at being a typical family — like dealing with faulty plumbing — is boring.
Surprisingly, it’s De Niro who leads the boring brigade. Giovanni is such a parody of De Niro’s finer mob characters that you wonder when he is going to break into Vito Corleone or Jimmy Conway.
The action doesn’t pick up until the last 30 minutes dive into total guns-blazing entertainment. But this shift is so abrupt that you wonder if it’s the same film. Despite the inconsistent tone, the energy of the Manzoni supporting cast is the only thing keeping “The Family” bearable.
— Avery Thompson
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