Steve Pulaski Mighty Fine focuses on a Jewish-American family in the 1970's after they move from Brooklyn into a luxurious new home in New Orleans. The head of the family is Joe Fine, played by veteran actor and one of my favorite leading men Chazz Palminteri, accompanied by his wife Stella (Andie MacDowell), his oldest daughter Madie (Rainey Qualley), and his younger daughter Natalie (Jodelle Ferland). Joe and Stella are beyond excited for this new change - even Natalie, the young writer of the family holds some dearly strong optimism. The one who objects the most is Madie, who sees her father's allegedly kind gesture as an act of inexcusable selfishness as she had to drop everything, leave her friends, and now assimilate to a culture she doesn't remotely hold interest in.Just when you think this takes over and becomes the facile plot-point of the film, the curve-ball is thrown. We see Joe's descent into madness, with stress at work boiling over his head, family disconnect, and bottled-up rage coming through like never before. He becomes verbally and physically abusive towards his wife and children, threatening violence, embellishing every little mistake, etc. All while Natalie captures her thoughts through diary entries.Mighty Fine is a semi-autobiographical tale of writer/director Debbie Goodstein's childhood, which was surrounded by success with her writing and heartbreak with her father's mental instability. It's admirable to see that the film never seems to channel the lines of self-indulgence or self-satisfaction. It's surprisingly conducted on a small-scale and never seems overreaching. The film is so small-scale, at times, it feels like a TV pilot - a competent one, at that. We get to know the characters, we see their hardships, then when the credits finally role, we realize we wouldn't really mind seeing them again anytime soon.However, at seventy-nine minutes, it feels as if Goldstein was handed the runtime prior to shooting and told to make a film that wouldn't go a minute over eighty. Mighty Fine seems to casually go about its runtime for the first forty to forty-five minutes, then rushes to include the plot-points of stress escalation, characters with mental states on the tipping point, suicidal thoughts, fights, etc in the last thirty minutes. The biggest problem is that this is all happening way too quickly, with certain little plot-strands being abandoned right after they're brought up.Fortunately, Might Fine at least rebounds with its competence and gentle, well-articulated craft of storytelling and focus. The family is given a wide-range or interaction with each other, and Goldstein is essentially filming on an open range with several characters to look at, doing a fine job (or a mighty fine job) of giving them all their own time to shine. This is simple, genial fare, but it remains impressive given its lack of indulgence or mediocrity in tone.Starring: Chazz Palminteri, Andie MacDowell, Rainey Qualley, and Jodelle Ferland. Directed by: Debbie Goldstein.

Jan Messali Set in the 70's, a family of 4 moves from their home in Brooklyn to New Orleans to begin a new life. By all appearances this is a happy, thriving family... but, they have a secret. The father, Joe Fine, played by Chazz Palminteri, has anger issues. His wife, Stella, played by Andie McDowell, is an enabler. The daughters, "Maddy" and "Natalie" suffer the consequences of their father's unpredictable mood swings. Joe Fine is the king of his castle, who feels that his self worth is determined by his wealth. He enjoys a lavish lifestyle until overseas competition takes a tole on his business. The prospect of failure puts Joe in a tailspin that nearly causes the destruction of his family. Stella has been abused for so long that the abuse seems normal and she makes excuses for her husband's behavior, rather than confronting him about it. Maddie, the 16 year old daughter, constantly butts heads with her dad and the more demanding he becomes the more she fights back. The youngest daughter, Natalie, is somewhat more forgiving. The movie is told from the vantage point of a grown up Natalie, looking back on her childhood. The narration is provided by Janeane Garofolo. It's been said that a good movie lingers with you long after you've seen it. This is definitely the type of movie that you'll think about, and probably talk about, for quite a while. It's not easy to watch. In fact, there are scenes that will have you holding your breath. During the chat with the author, Debbie Goodstein, and actors, I learned that Joe Fine wanted to be Super Dad, he loved his family and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for them. This is not at all how I viewed Joe in the movie. When he 'treats' his family to an Elvis Presley concert, an elaborate house, a new car, and jewelry I felt he was trying to make up for the abuses he'd put his family through...like a man who hits his wife and and later brings her flowers and begs for forgiveness. I could not be sympathetic to Joe. In fact, like his daughter, Maddy, the more Joe gave his family, the more I disliked Joe. Without giving away the ending, I'll just say there is hope for this family.

divalocks10 The film tells the story of family who relocates from the big city of New York to the southern town of New Orleans. Joe, the father is a charming, larger-than-life character who wants to be Super Dad to his two daughters. Stella, the mother is a holocaust survivor who spends her days trying to make Joe happy. The daughters 16 year old Maddie is at the point in her life where she is starting to think for herself and seek friendships outside of the family. Natalie the younger sister always stays optimistic and tries to see the good side of people even when they're not at their best. Everything seems normal and fine to the outside world but every family has secrets and Joe's anger and outbursts may threaten everything.

Jyl Nipper (thepost-itplace) I recently had the opportunity to preview Mighty Fine which hits theaters on May 25th. I loved the movie and the powerful message that it portrays. I recommend it for everyone to see...It does however have strong language, but I guess that was necessary to go along with the father character, played by Chazz Palminteri. You will fall in love with Rainey Qualley, Andie MacDowell's real life daughter, in her debut as Maddie Fine. The movie will leave you emotionally raw as it opens your eyes to a behind the scenes look at emotional abuse. May be hard to watch for those who have experienced abuse in their own lives. Great cast, great movie!!