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In his opening to Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy wrote “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” They are also often funny in their own way, as well. Where would storytelling be without the drama and comedy of dysfunctional clans? A million stories have sprung from family trees. Bad marriages, cheating husbands, sibling rivalry, unruly children, teenage awkwardness, aging gracefully; all have been examined (As they asked in Sex and the City, “What happened to aging gracefully?” “It got old.”). The five films below look at what it means to be a family in some humorous and bizarre ways. And they each have plenty of heart.
The Daytrippers (1996) – After finding a love letter that makes her think her husband Louis (Stanley Tucci) is having an affair with a woman named Sandy, Eliza (Hope Davis) sets out for Manhattan on a quest to find the truth, bringing her entire family along for the ride. That includes parents Jim and Rita (Pat McNamara and Anne Meara), sister Jo (Parker Posey), and her aspiring novelist boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber). They all load up in the family station wagon to solve the mystery.
They first visit Louis’ office, a publishing firm where they find questionable pictures of Louis with a woman they believe to be Sandy. That takes them to a book party, where Jo meets a charming author (Campbell Scott) who argues politics with Carl and catches her eye. Eliza eventually ends up at a hipster party where she finds out the truth about her husband. Many other truths are revealed along the way for each character. Davis strikes all the right notes as the vulnerable wife, not knowing what to believe. Meara and McNamara are perfect as the loyal but befuddled parents, and Parker and Schreiber shine as a not-so-perfect couple. Marcia Gay Harden has a few minutes’ screen time as a needy, insecure woman. It’s a fun ride all around with a nice twist at the end.
Flirting with Disaster (1996) – A loaded cast makes this screwball comedy a definite must watch. The plot is simple. Mel (Ben Stiller) wants to find his biological parents and enlists adoption worker Tina (Tea Leoni) to help him. His adoptive parents Pearl and Ed (Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal) are not happy with his quest. Along with Tina and his wife Nancy (Patricia Arquette) and their baby son, they set out to meet his birth parents. But Tina, being flaky and inept, keeps sending them to the wrong people. Along the way they meet Valerie (Celia Weston) and her twin blonde daughters (Howard Stern’s wife Beth Ostrosky is one of them) and realize they are not related.
This leads them to Michigan to meet trucker Fritz (David Patrick Kelly), the man who dropped baby Mel off to the adoption agency and who welcomes the idea of having a son. He lets Mel drive his truck…which Mel crashes into a Post Office, bringing ATF agents and couple Paul and Tony (Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin) into the mix. Tony and Nancy recognize each other as former high school classmates. Fritz fesses up that he is not Mel’s birth father, and that he was just helping Mel’s parents who were unavailable at the time. Tina finds out they live in New Mexico, so off they all go.
Mel’s birth parents turn out to be Mary and Richard Schlichting (Lily Tomlin and Alan Alda), who were in jail for LSD distribution when he was born. Along with another son, Lonnie (Glenn Fitzgerald), they still are in the business. Mel’s adoptive parents also show up in New Mexico, and their mistaken car switch heightens the action. There are also flirtations between Tina and Mel and Tony and Nancy that must be resolved. The screenplay by director David O. Russell (Spanking the Monkey) is hilarious and the action moves briskly. Everyone in it is excellent. Mary Tyler Moore plays against type as a neurotic Jewish mother who’s also a tad saucy, Josh Brolin is flawless as the bisexual ATF agent with a strange fetish, and Tomlin and Alda make the most of the counterculture parents.
The Squid and the Whale (2005) – How a family copes in the aftermath of a divorce is the subject matter of Noah Bambauch’s insightful comedy/drama. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney are Bernard and Joan Berkman, a duo who give The Bickersons a run for their money. They have two sons, 16-year-old Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and 12-year-old Frank (Owen Kline), and share joint custody of them…and the family cat. Bernard is a writing teacher and novelist who speaks in superior tones about literature, which Walt emulates. When Walt discovers his mother had affairs during his parents’ marriage, he no longer goes to her house.
As the story proceeds, we find out Joan’s had many liaisons, and it’s comical how she casually states them. At present she’s seeing Frank’s tennis coach, whom Bernard labels a “philistine.” Frank likes him and sees him as a role model. Both sons act out in different ways. Walt enters a talent contest and wins by performing a Pink Floyd song on guitar that he says he wrote. Confronted with his deception, he says he felt he could have written the song, so it was his. Frank starts drinking alcohol and has a nasty sexual quirk, which we won’t mention here. It’s gross.
Bernard allows one of his students, Lili (Anna Paquin) to move in with him and Walt develops a crush on her. When he discovers his father and her in a compromising position Walt runs from the house and eventually realizes some hard truths. As for the title and its meaning? You’ll have to watch the movie!
The Savages (2007) – The Savages is a dark comedy-drama by Tamara Jenkins about siblings Wendy (Laura Linney) and Jon (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) dealing with the mental deterioration of their father Lenny (Philip Bosco), who is suffering from dementia. When his girlfriend of 20 years dies, they are informed by her daughter (Debra Monk) that Lenny has no rights to their house and must move. Jon finds a nearby nursing home for his father. And Wendy, an aspiring playwright and office temp, takes time off to help him set their dad up. Wendy is also having an affair with a married man (Peter Friedman) that frustrates her. She also lies sometimes and can be a bit prickly. Jon, a theatre professor, is writing a book on Brecht and has a Polish girlfriend who must leave the U.S. as her visa is about to expire. Even though they have been together for three years he doesn’t want to marry her.
Wendy and Jon’s was a difficult man before his diagnosis and both siblings had nothing to do with him as adults, knowing him to be emotionally abusive. Their mother abandoned them at an early age. The film is spot on in its portrayal of children becoming caretakers and navigating their way through the eldercare system. Linney (Oscar nominated for this) and Hoffman are totally believable in their roles with a very true-to-life screenplay guiding them. There’s nothing false in this film.
The Way Way Back (2013) – It’s the kids that are the wise ones in this coming-of-age comedy/drama that boasts a fine performance from Liam James as 14-year-old Duncan. Duncan and his mom Pam (a clueless Toni Collette) are vacationing with her boyfriend Trent (an unlikable Steve Carell) at his summer house along with Trent’s blasé daughter Steph (Zoe Levin). For added measure we get next-door neighbor Betty (Allison Janney), a divorcee with no filter, and her children Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and Peter (River Alexander). Trent is a jerk, and Duncan can see through his façade, something Duncan’s timid mother seems incapable of most of the time.
Duncan goes out to explore the town and meets Owen (Sam Rockwell), a water park manager with an infectious, devil-may-care attitude who becomes a mentor to him. Owen gives him a job at the Water Wizz which Duncan keeps from his mother. She’s too busy smoking pot and drinking anyway. “It’s like spring break for adults,” Susanna tells Duncan, referring to the summer season. Duncan keeps quiet after seeing Trent kissing Joan (Amanda Peet). Pam begins to suspect Trent is having an affair, but he assures her he is not (liar!). This culminates in a showdown between Duncan and Trent, where Trent reveals that Duncan’s father doesn’t want him. Duncan runs to the water park where Owen is having a party and stays out all night. There is a resolution at the end, but I wish it would have been stronger and spelled out more (minor quibble).
This was a reunion for Carell and Collette, having previously worked together on 2006’s Oscar-winning Little Miss Sunshine. Maya Rudolph is also featured as a frazzled Water Wizz worker with designs on Owen, and Janney has a blast playing the boozy, flirty Betty. Rockwell fully captures the charm of an aging slacker who provides Duncan with the anchor he desperately needs. Liam James as Duncan gives a poignant portrayal of an adolescent boy dealing with clueless adults. And when you’re a teenager are there any other kind?