DVD It Runs in the Family

Yes, three generations from the Douglas family show up in this film as the "Grombergs" a dysfunctional family whose members just do not how to communicate with each other. Grumpy Kirk Douglas is the center of the family (and the film) while his son Michael Douglas's character faces the crisis of the family (in the shape of the suspected infidelty).

Each member has his/her problems, as this kind of film always show. So, you also see Diana Douglas (Michael's mother) playing against Kirk Douglas while Cameron Douglas (Michael's son) appears as ... er ... Michael's character's son, who is not doing well in university, and got into troubles, one drug-related.

Now, the troubles with "It Runs in the Family" is that the film ALMOST touches the very biting truths about being in a family -- you cannot get away from your children, siblings, or parents no matter what they are, or how they act. You sit through the embarrasing moments of the family's annual gatherings, wishing that this would end soon, and the film tries to show such moments. But what it reveals in the overlong running time is nothing original or truthful to us. One example shows: when a quiet, very introspective boy Rory Culkin (cast as Cameron's younger brother) falls for a girl in school, she must be a wild, goth girl who has a pierce in nose. The film is full of such cliched elements that you can tell who is going to die, and how, before it happens.

I don't think acting is bad, and it is good to see Kirk Douglas after he suffered from a stroke (and he still has the daredevil personality seen in, say, "Doc" in "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral"). Cameron Douglas is good and looks natural as rebellous college student, and there are some memorable moments from the cast, especially from the dance scene of Diana and Kirk. But after watching this long film, you will remember almost nothing in it, perhaps except the fact that you saw four Douglases in one picture. It sounds harsh to say, but what else can this film be proud of?