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Rating:

I will say it loud and clear: this is the movie you don’t want to miss this year. Everybody’s Fine follows a widower, played by Robert DeNiro, who embarks on an impromptu road trip to visit his grown children after his wife passes away. This is the best movie I have seen in ages and it starts with DeNiro, who can act without even speaking. Just a look or a gesture and you will understand why he should get a boat load of awards, including best actor for DeNiro and Best Picture for this film. Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell play his kids, who used to deal with Mom and have trouble relating to dad.

This film has good actors and acting, but the story is touching and sincere and we can all see our own families as we watch. The film work is also superb, with every shot carefully designed to convey the message the film is sending and very clever use of flashbacks that prove what we all know: parents never think of their children as being “grown-ups.” From generation to generation we all deal with that as a permanent bond with our parents that is a mixture of love and resentment.

If you haven’t figured it out already, this one gets the perfect four out of Fordyce. But if you go, bring your hankie. Grown men were crying when I saw the screening and they were movie critics who are known for not having emotions. And when you go, savor this movie as the rare treasure it is and the classic it will become.