Family Business
Here are a couple of comedies about criminals, both with heavy-duty star power and an uneasy mix of melancholy, violence and humor.-"FAMILY BUSINESS" is the more successful of the two, and it gets by on sheer star charisma.
The story, in superficial ways, resembles "The Godfather," with Sean Connery as a lifetime criminal whose son, Dustin Hoffman, though raised as a young hoodlum, has gone straight.
But he's about to pick up his criminal ways again.
In this case it is Hoffman's son, college student Matthew Broderick, who comes up with a criminal scheme. Knowing Dad disapproves of Granddad, Broderick takes his heist proposition straight to Connery.
But to pull off this caper, a third man is needed — someone who can break into locked premises without detection. Hoffman is elected.
At first he declines, of course, but ultimately Hoffman relents and agrees to participate — ostensibly to protect his son. We know, however, that he enjoys it more than he wants to admit.
But when the robbery goes awry, tragedy ensues.
"Family Business" is an edgy film that never really comes to terms with its comedy-drama mix. There are elements that seem too angry, which could also describe Hoffman's character. And perhaps Broderick is just a tad too serious.
There are many moments to relish in his performance, but also some that seem awkward, as when he lashes out at Broderick's girlfriend (Victoria Jackson) in a dinner scene. And there is little real chemistry between the stars, though individually they are, as always, very interesting to watch.
Vincent Patrick's screenplay (his first, based on his own novel) has a great feeling for eccentric characters, but veteran director Sidney Lumet seems uncomfortable at times, unable to find a balanced tone and framing some shots as if he's trying too hard to include all three stars (lots of profiles here). Worse, however, is Cy Coleman's music, which often fights the action rather than underscoring it.
On the whole, "Family Business," rated R for violence and considerable profanity, is a watchable failure with parts that are much more enjoyable than the whole.
-"WE'RE NO ANGELS" may go down in film history as distinctive simply because we get to see Robert DeNiro reduced to mugging like Jerry Lewis. In fact, there are some scenes in this picture in which his facial contortions go on and on in extended scenes that may cause the audience to feel uncomfortable for the respected star.
DeNiro and Sean Penn star as two convicts in a prison near the Canadian border, circa 1935. Like Laurel and Hardy, both are dumb, but one is dumber — and he's the one who often accomplishes the most. (Actually a better comparison than Stan and Ollie might be the Dead End Kids, especially since Penn occasionally seems to be doing an imitation of Leo Gorcey — or maybe Huntz Hall.)
In the film's opening scenes DeNiro and Penn find themselves reluctantly in the company of an escaping criminal in a harrowing prison break sequence and then, the next day, they are mistaken on the road for a couple of priests expected in the nearby small town.
Naturally, they sieze the opportunity to protect themselves, and before they know it they are preaching at the pulpit, helping a local prostitute (Demi Moore) whose young daughter is deaf and dumb and calling a local cop to repentance.
"We're No Angels" is written by David Mamet, whose screenplays include "The Untouchables," "The Verdict" and two fine films he also directed, "Things Change" and "House of Games." But "Angels" has none of the bite and little of the wit of those films, vacillating uncomfortably between light comedy and gritty violence.
The violence, by the way, seems far too violent in the opening and closing sequences, and there are also a couple of scenes that seem cribbed from an Indiana Jones thriller, which only adds to the schizophrenic feel of the film. Director Neil Jordan, whose work includes the very gritty "Mona Lisa" and "The Company of Wolves," along with last year's awful spook comedy, "High Spirits," can't get a handle on the light touch necessary for this material.
But the real surprise is to see DeNiro going over the top in a performance much less controlled than his last foray into comedy, "Midnight Run." And to see Sean Penn develop a much more rounded character in a very funny portrayal.
"We're No Angels" is very much a mixed bag, but in the end an unsatisfying one. It is rated PG-13, though the violence would seem to put it in R-rated territory. The violence is very graphic; there is quite a bit of profanity and a nude scene with Demi Moore.