jk-692-236394 This movie is just not interesting or well done. The acting is very clunky and the whole movie feels stiff and unnatural. I was actually pretty appalled at how bad it was. I figured with some of the talent, it would have it's moments. Honestly, it did not. It is hard to watch Kirk Douglas speaking with his voice after his stroke. My Dad has had two strokes so I know how hard it is to get your speech back, but for me with the lackluster script and then his altered speech and of course his face is changed too from his stroke, it was difficult to see. I am sure most people would not want to bring this up to be sensitive, but everyone is thinking it. It is sad to watch this movie with Michael Douglas's son Cameron, who is in jail for drugs until 2018, and then to know his stepbrother died in 2004 from a drug overdose. Roger Ebert said if they just made a movie based on their real lives, it would of been a heck of a movie.

eric262003 "It Runs in the Family" is a juxtaposition of fiction and reality that as a family drama that centers around three generations of the Douglas family that has its fair share of dysfunctional traits as the fictional Gromberg family portrayed here. Kirk Douglas stars as Mitchell Gromberg, the head patriarch of the family and Evelyn Gromberg plays his wife which is the real life ex-wife of Kirk's, Diana Douglas. Their lawyer son is Alex played by Kirk's real-life son Michael Douglas who also served the movie's producer. While the film is running, one has to wonder how the relationship between Mitchell and Alex close reflect to the rel-life bonding of Kirk and Michael. In addition to this family casting is Cameron Douglas in his debut as the elder grandson Asher. The movie reflects upon the interactions of the the characters, which is apropos to the personal experiences that the Douglas family has encountered over the years. The remaining cast includes Rory Culkin's role as Asher's younger brother Eli and Bernadette Peters as Alex's psychiatrist wife, Rebecca. The centerpiece of this story concentrates on the lack of family traits in an Upper-class Jewish-American family in a middle-class Manhattan estate. The head of the household is the aging Mitchell who opened a successful law firm where Alex is also employed. Mitchell has lost a step or two from a stroke that has caused him to lose clarity in his voice and a loss of physical attributes which now he has to depend on his son and grandson to pick up the pieces he left behind. While this is happening, the female clan are depending on themselves to keep everything under control of these difficult times. But the setbacks take a turn for the ugly become a hindrance to the family's stability. Asher becomes a pot-dealer and failing his first semester in college, Alex is schemed by an assistant at the soup kitchen he volunteers at, and Eli has alienated himself from the family that he depends on an Excel spreadsheet as a communicative tool to ask for an allowance. Sure it's not all drama, there are some very humorous moments in the movie. Sure there's tragedy in the movie that has two members die, but their deaths symbolize the distance the family has upon each other and it was never padded on for good measure.The complexity of the story wheels upon the various family issues as they try to thrive upon the need to succeed, the values of love and dominance, while facing the tribulations of grief, and moving on in a new chapter of life regardless of age. It will open your heart, but won't always leave you in tears, but more in observing the feelings the characters have while coping through the difficult stages one has to go through. Sure the humor is very useful during the tragic stages, but the emotional scenes are hard to swallow that you're left with no choice but to feel like you need to be involved with their situations. The complexity of this story does have its setbacks as well. It feels like there was no conclusion to the story. The only sub-plots that end are the ones where two characters have to die off. Granted nothing is completely resolved in the end, but it does have some potential for hope. The acting was brilliant and it is a great slice of life, so if you like emotional tearjerkers, then this movie's for you. I gave it an eight instead of nine or ten, because I feel that I shouldn't watch this movie multiple times. Maybe twice the most. Or a third if I'm in the mood. I think of it as a low-budget version of "Moonlight Mile" which centers on similar themes as "It Runs in the Family". It's a great watch (not excellent), but if you ask me what the moral to the ending of the story is, taken from the words of Eli when a question comes to him, "whatever".

patilinet adrian My interest to watch this movie,was primarily due to seeing three generations from the Douglas-clan acting together.It is definitely not a movie you watch twice,the plot is predictable,one might even say that a plot does not exist.But the whole atmosphere of this big family,with their happy moments,sorrows,quarrels is well pictured.I was impressed by old Kirk,who at his age acts quite well.Watching him behaving like an old man who still wants to play a role and be a decision maker in his family,made me think of the sometimes sad aspects of getting older.The scene when he danced with his wife,before her upcoming death ,is moving.Also himself jogging and being thrown down to earth by youngsters passing by, who are neglecting his fall.He is hurt,but he does not cry,he takes it with dignity.The uneasy life of an old man ,who has his difficulties but refuses to be a looser.And he certainly gets the sympathy of the audience through this.We cannot neglect the old people around us,trying to live further in this speedy and sometimes selfish world ,which gets less sensible towards them and finds less time to comfort them.But this movie could make us more indulgent with old people.This could be the message of this movie,besides being an occasion to watch acting three generations of the Douglas family.

TxMike It didn't cost me anything, the DVD came from my public library. With the cast I had mildly high hopes, but my wife and I kept waiting for something significant to happen in the story. It never came. Much of the situations seemed greatly contrived and then it just sort of ended, after the wife made three demands of the husband -- get our son a good lawyer, get us a good marriage counselor, and do the dishes tomorrow in OUR kitchen. We would not recommend this movie to any of our friends.My following comments contain some SPOILERS so please don't read them if you have not seen the movie. The heart of the husband/wife friction came after she found green panties in her husband's coat pocket. The scene at 15 minutes which got them there was highly implausible, given the people and the setting (a soup kitchen), and when you replay it, and watch how and why she puts the panties in his pocket, it seems even more contrived. But that was what they needed for the story. Then, when husband was confronted, he had to say the wrong things, and conveniently omit telling his wife that nothing happened, for him to end up 'in the doghouse.' There is another 'almost sex' scene with the son and his new girlfriend. Again, it seemed awkward, unrealistic, then he put on his shoes and left, as his grandfather advised, so the girl would come begging for him later. An insult to women, and distasteful for a grandfather giving advice on 'how to score with women' to his grandson. I admire Kirk Douglas for making this movie, still recovering from his stroke. The scenes between the real son and father never rang true for me, nor most of the other family scenes. Maybe it was just a mediocre script. The whole movie was a big letdown for me.