The Family (2013)

"Like Al Capone said, asking polite with a gun in your hand is better than asking polite with nothing." Giovanni

Family values in The Family are not your father's values unless, like me, your grandfather ran a numbers business in the basement of his barbershop. All of Kodak Park enjoyed that true color.

The Giovanni Manzoni/Fred Blake (Robert De Niro) family has a paterfamilias who is a notorious Mafia don in the FBI witness protection plan. (De Niro as a mobster is the fall's most unimaginative casting but he's funny.) His values are ratting on his fellow Mafiosi to save his legal hide, forcing him to hide with a $20 million reward dogging him. The family's love for each other is unconditional and treats challenges with a baseball bat rather than diplomacy. If a Frenchman disrespects Americans, he might find his supermarket in flames.

If this sounds like a story to turn the nuns' heads completely around, don't worry; it's ultra "black comedy," equal parts Italian-American gangster satire and laughable domestic shenanigans. That midway in the film Fred gets to speak on the merits of GoodFellas before a French crowd in Normandy is one of the nice meta-critical-comedic turns followed by carnage we've come to expect from Mob films. It's pretty much territory owned by Scorsese and De Niro. Additionally, the use of the "f" word has never been so deftly played in a comedy.

Besides the joy of seeing De Niro have a good time with the many tough characters he has played in his career, you get to see Tommy Lee Jones play a gruff FBI agent, Robert Stansfield, who can trade barbs with his charge, Fred, who has such a propensity for violence (he beats up the only plumber within 20 miles of town) that Fred is a full time job for Robert. If Jones's face can't scare Fred into being a good boy, then the threat of losing witness protection does the trick.

Directed with wicked tongue in cheek by La Femme Nikita's stylish Luc Besson, The Family sports an accomplished supporting cast: Michelle Pfeiffer as mom Maggie is gritty Brooklyn with her famous beauty well preserved. The two kids played by Diana Argon and John D'Leo are spot on sweetly dangerous as you might expect.

It's all in GoodFellas fun, a mildly amusing and unusual story that beats many mainstream comedies this year.

Fmovies: I watched this almost expecting to be disappointed.

I ended up watching it twice.

After a few times of "things" happening they came to be expected. But I still couldn't help laughing. And really the only time I didn't laugh was because the script decided to have a couple serious moments.

Don't get me wrong. This isn't just stupid laughs. There is a plot, there is acting, there is everything that makes a great movie.

I think the only way this could have been funnier is if Joe Pesci had been in it also.

This movie literally defines "wise-guy".

THE FAMILY is one of my favorite movies this year. It's funny, it's witty, it's quick on its feet and it's surprisingly heartwarming. It's got firepower, it's got action, though it has a hard time finding peanut butter. What a great blend of family drama and gangster comedy. Luc Besson, the great director who brought us such masterpieces as Leon The Professional and The Fifth Element, is back and he's bringing with him a family that's as tough as their patriarch is. Led by three great thesps Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tommy Lee Jones, and complimented by young talents like John D'Leo and Dianna Agron, THE FAMILY aims to entertain those of us who love a bit of Goodfellas added a hint of humor. Just like that old saying: Never go against the family.

In a nutshell, it's about a family who was part of the mob right up until the patriarch, Robert De Niro ratted out the bosses and since then, De Niro's family has been in witness protection program, and the bosses in prison are still bent on finding them and killing them. De Niro's family got moved by the program to a new place in Normandy, France. Obviously it's a big drastic change from Brooklyn NY to France, so that in and of itself is already enough to let you know that hilarity that comes out of the difficulties of adjusting to a new place will ensue, including the bullish*t story that they have to come up with to explain where they're from or who they are to the new neighbors. Now.. unlike other gangster comedies, kinda like the ones that Guy Ritchie made, THE FAMILY does not show dumb bumbling criminals, the comedy in THE FAMILY banks on the short fuse and the temper that this Brooklyn family has, the violence exists because the reasons behind it are petty and that makes it funny. They try so hard to fit in and but because the new culture that they're in is extremely different, to a certain point it even looks down on them, they can't help but to unleash their old tough selves

Robert De Niro is a legend, we all know that, he makes things look so easy. He's played gangster or mobster roles countless times before, he's even done it for comedy, anybody remember Analyze This?! So THE FAMILY is a walk in the park for him, he could probably do this blindfolded, but of course, he doesn't take it too lightly especially when sparring with other greats like Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones, whenever those three interact on screen, it's like the camera just wants more and more of them even when their lines are done and over. De Niro's character is a good father, with a terrible past, but is a good father to his kids, and it's killing him that he can't tell his story to the world. Pretending to be someone he's not, suffocates him. He starts writing his own memoir, which is discouraged by his handler, played by Tommy Lee Jones, but it's clear to see that all De Niro's character wants is some kind of appreciation, that despite the terrible things he's done, he's still a good man. Note the many use of the word F*CK that De Niro uses to express all kinds of range of emotions, it's definitely one of this movie's highlights. De Niro and Tommy's friendship relationship in this movie is a complicated one, you can tell that Tommy cares for De Niro and his family but at the same time there's duty that he has to uphold and strict protocol that must be followed by all involved if De Niro's family wants to survive. The kids, played by D'Leo

The Family fmovies. When I received the premier passes to see "The Family", I was really expecting with such great actors/actresses, that this movie would be good; but more-so expecting it to fall flat like so many before it. I was greatly surprised.

The Movie is based on the French author Tonino Benacquista's novel Malavita, which is know as Badfellas in America. And "BadFellas" is an interesting way to view this film. It does have all the wonderful elements of the great Mobster movies, but with a touch more humor. The family dynamic is a refreshing one that invokes what a modern mob family would probably be going through. You found yourself "going" for the family as a whole and not singling out one for their idiocy.

The movie starts off fast to quickly usher you thorough the character introductions and development, which is a good thing, because it allows you to experience their personality and growth throughout the film. You watch the stupid mistakes of a teenage girl, a boy who's intuitive yet still flawed. A mother who's trying to do the best she can to hold her family together, and a remorseful (somewhat) father.

If you are wanting Goodfellas or Casino, this isn't it. What this IS is DEFINITELY what "Analyze This" could have been if it was a better movie. There is plenty of action, and the previews don't give away the best of the movie. It is definitely a must see and Smush Approved.

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Very few actors into their old age have been able to resist the temptation to play out their end years like the last five overs in a 50 over cricket match- keep featuring in any movie that pays decent money. Of late, industry stalwart Rober De Niro has been guilty of the same, but once in a while he does bring out the old sparkle, and more often than not, that is generally in a mobster themed movie. Ditto for The Family- a zany comedy about a family of criminals, who come in all genders and ages.

Robert De Niro is Giovanni Manzoni, a crime boss on the run from his gang, who he tattled on. Put under witness protection, he and his family have a hard time sticking to their given identities as Giovanni is unable to rein in his sadistic urges, leading to a murder here, and a bashing there. His family is not far behind though- Michelle Pfeiffer is one bad closet pyromaniac of a mother, Dianne Aragon is the beautifully dangerous daughter, and John D'Leo is the young wheeler dealer gun, waiting to make a name in the business. The kids are a chip off the old block - brave and shrewd, with extremely practical, no nonsense attitudes. Tommy Lee Jones is the FBI agent who has to help these lunatics maintain a low profile. But all they keep doing, in different doses of hilarity, is making a war-zone out of a mofussil town.

Luc Besson makes a fine comeback with this funny gangster comedy- the script is witty, the pace is fast, there are sudden scenes of shocking violence, and equal doses of laugh out moments. All the actors do a great job. This is a role meant for De Niro- he is a career don (Goodfellas, The Godfather, Casino) and this is right up his alley, a walk in the park. His interactions with his family are awesome, and at the end i was left wanting more of this family- a sequel on the cards? Michelle Pfeiffer's beauty has not dimmed one bit, and Tommy Lee Jones maintains a straight face throughout the antics.

The Family is as much about a real family as it is about thugs. Growing up pains, romance, responsibility, will to survive- all of it is nicely packaged into a decent entertainer which has loads of laughter, guns, hammers, baseball bats, explosions, and everything else you love about the gangster movie genre- 7/10

Wow, I just left the movie theater and I am shocked about the amount of bad reviews this movie had. I am a kind of huge fan of Tommy Lee Jones and Robert De Niro so perhaps my opinion about this movie is a bit influenced by that. Despite that, I must confess I truly enjoyed this movie. It was funny and it was very interesting to see how the family get used to an all new identity every time they had to move in. The plot is basically about a family, the Mazonis, that was relocated to Normandy under the witness protection program. So they had basically to try fitting in soon to avoid being caught by the mafia members who were trying to kill them. Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro were really great playing their characters and despite not being an excellent movie, "The Family" is enjoyable and is another great addition to Luc Besson's career.