Review Roundup: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer Star in THE FAMILY

THE FAMILY stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, and John D'Leo. The film, directed by Luc Besson and written by Tonino Benacquista (novel), Luc Besson (screenplay) is now in theaters.

The dark action comedy follows a mafia boss and his family who are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni (Robert DeNiro), his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D'Leo) can't help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the "family" way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down.

Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings in this darkly funny film.The Family follows the Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard.

Let's see what the critics had to say:

Stephen Holden, New York Times

The movie has holes galore. It has abrupt tonal shifts, an incoherent back story and abandoned subplots. It doesn't even try for basic credibility. But buoyed by hot performances, it sustains a zapping electrical energy.

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post

There's not much to laugh about in Luc Besson's dark comedy "The Family." The plodding, overlong film follows a former mob boss who snitched on associates and wound up overseas in a witness protection program with his wife and kids. But rather than try to assimilate, the clan can't stop resorting to its old ways, which consist mainly of inflicting mayhem on innocents.

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

While De Niro and Pfeiffer make their way through the story's paces well enough, it's actually "Glee's" Agron who makes a surprising impression, sliding from the innocent ingénue to manipulative murderess with ease.Throughout, Besson serves up red meat action with the sweet feel of a confectionary, making his fun, forgettable "The Family" both better than might be expected and still not much of anything at all.

Claudia Puig, USA Today

Director Luc Besson's action-movie sensibilities have drowned out any subtlety that co-writer Michael Caleo (The Sopranos) might have brought to the project. The film might have included funnier culture clashes, but instead, it goes for obvious gags and running jokes that fall flat. The plot is awkwardly contrived and gratuitously violent, but much could be forgiven if the result were funnier.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The R-rated violence-heads bashed, throats slit, blood everywhere-doesn't exactly put a grin on your face. The actors, especially Pfeiffer, give the script more than it deserves. But Besson's leaden touch works against light and airy. The Family is a comic soufflé that never rises.

Kyle Smith, New York Post

In other words, writer-director Luc Besson, a prolific hack, has the kind of taste in comedy you might delicately describe as "French." The scenes that are meant to be hilarious are as broad as a hedgerow and twice as stiff. If Besson had any sense, he'd recognize his protagonists for the villains they are and put someone we could root for on their trail.

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer

f you don't ask too much of it, the film is diverting, thanks to the brisk assurance of director Luc Besson. But the pulp master who gave us The Fifth Element frames The Family as a traditional French farce, which requires more patience than American audiences are likely to afford it.

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

If The Sopranos had ended with Tony turning informant and being whisked away into the witness protection program, The Family could have been a big-screen sequel to the TV show. What you remember most are the funny bits and the Unconditional love these twisted family members have for each other. Just pray they don't move in next door.

Robert Levin, amNewYork

At his filmmaking best, Besson is a master of corralling conflicting tones. But he loses control of "The Family," which vacillates between the deadpan absurdity of a mob parody, sepia-colored 1930s gangster movie homage and small-town European comedy. It's not terrible; the lead performances count for a lot. But it is a mess.

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, A.V. Club

Adapting a novel by Tonino Benacquista, Besson and co-writer Michael Caleo stress the idea that De Niro and Pfeiffer's household is a loving and functional one-it's just that its members have no moral filter when it comes to outsiders. This creates many opportunities to satirize clannishness, but that satire never materializes.

To post a comment, you must register and login.