SimonJack "Everybody's Fine" is a film about a widower father reconnecting with his adult children spread across the U.S. Robert De Niro's Frank Goode apparently was a stern parent who pushed his kids to get ahead. But, in his retirement and loss of his wife, he longs for family connectedness that had always been provided by his wife. The kids could talk to her but not to him. This is a film about a dysfunctional family, with subsequent dysfunctions. The acting is mostly mediocre, with only De Niro giving a fine performance. The story becomes predictable as it unfolds. And, Frank's fear of flying is passé. By the 1990s, fear of flying was pretty much gone from the public consciousness. So, here, the hero takes to riding buses, trains, and catching a ride from a trucker. Instead of two- or three-hour flights from one city to another, Frank spends days on the road. Which slows the story down that much more, and needs filling with little anecdotes here and there with fellow passengers. All of that, combined with a dysfunctional family film makes for a mostly depressing and dull movie. By the 21st century, so-called "normal" or healthy families had become the exception. Hardly any family exists today that hasn't had some dysfunction with addictions or any number of social, health, mental or other problems. Most people don't flock to such films for entertainment. So, it's no wonder that the box office take for "Everybody's Fine" didn't come close to recovering its estimated $21 million budget.

rydwyer816 "Everybody's Fine" directed by Kirk Jones, centers a widower (Robert De Niro) who realized his only connection to his kids was through his wife, so he sets out on a journey to reunite with his grown children.First of all, may I say the title is very misleading. The truth is, everybody is NOT fine.The movie begins with Robert De Niro preparing long and hard for his kids to come over for a cookout, until all his kids end up canceling on him last minute. Seeing an old man put in a lot of hard work only to be let down was not only very very sad but also very very depressing. I was hoping that maybe this movie had an "Up" type of plot, having the first 10 minutes super incredibly sad and then the rest of movie just gets better from there, but nope, I was wrong. So wrong.You would think the beginning is the worst part, but the truth is the movie just goes downhill from there, very downhill. I was hoping at some point there would SOME turn of events that would satisfy my broken heart for this old man, but that never happened.Although the movie ended with what seemed to be a "happy" ending, considering he DID get all the family together (well not ALL the family) I still wasn't recovered from the emotional damage the movie did to me, and the some-what "happy" ending sure didn't help it.I do believe the movie was very good, because any movie that makes me cry THAT hard is a movie that is well done. Robert De Niro was the star and his little innocent old man look really got to me. I would definitely watch the movie again, especially now that I know what I'm getting myself into.

kobl0008 This film was superb. It is a very simple story of a dad trying to connect with his kids after they have grown up and grown apart. This film is a marvel of character development so vivid that you truly feel an impact from the realistic scenes and dialog. It is played perfectly by Robert DeNiro. I would recommend this to anyone looking to enjoy a good story that is wonderfully told. There are some funny parts, there are some sad parts, there are some really meaningful personal resolutions and it is all told very artfully.I am not one much for writing reviews but this film did compel me to say something since I think this film's story needs to be shared.

SMALLWHEELS101 I'm not saying the acting was bad, just hear me out. First of all , don't pick this as a date movie, I made that mistake and me and my bf were looking at each other crying ridiculously and screaming "why!" this film kinda reminds me of the movie Crossroads just with way better acting and cast and no brittney spears!. Its just one tragedy after another and just too painful to watch. The only character I was really feeling sorry for was Robert De Nero. He was the one that had to really suffer. Having four kids that seem to not care about him to tell him the truth about anything, now that's depressing. And the secrets they are keeping aren't really that bad, they just build up drama, and everything really bad that happens, happens to him. Now the big finale when one of his kids die you really don't feel remorse for that because you never meet him, but just feel sorry for the dad.I just can't sit through it again. I'm not quite sure why so many people enjoyed it. It was OK just not heartwarming like some depressing films are. Maybe someone out there will agree with me