Synopsis
Ben's dad Sam shows up one night with a note from Ben's mother (Sam's wife of 46 years), that she has left. While Ben's wife and his three sisters try to find her, Ben takes Sam on a day trip to see a farmhouse that's for sale. The day trip turns into a road trip while dad and son explore their past, their relationship, and why Sam's wife might have left him. The road trip includes fishing, drinking, playing pool, sleeping under the stars, and frank discussion. Anger simmers close at hand, as do love and hope. Where Sam's wife is - and why she left - leads to the movie's resolution.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Peter FalkSam Kleinman
- Paul ReiserBen Kleinman
- Olympia DukakisMuriel Kleinman
- Elizabeth PerkinsRachel Kleinman
- Mackenzie ConnollyLilly Kleinman
- Ann DowdLinda
- Mimi LieberBonnie
- Lydia JordanMia Kleinman
- Catherine TaorminaYoung Muriel Kleinman
- Jerry Seinfeld
Recommendations
- 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Avoids easy shtick and saccharine conclusions, opting instead for character dynamics that the two leads deliver with consummate skill. - 70
L.A. Weekly
Raymond De Felitta's directing is straightforward, tactful, lyrical where necessary and never mawkish, and though Reiser's script offers no grand insights, it's full of sharply observed and funny detail. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Avoids easy shtick and saccharine conclusions, opting instead for character dynamics that the two leads deliver with consummate skill. - 70
L.A. Weekly
Raymond De Felitta's directing is straightforward, tactful, lyrical where necessary and never mawkish, and though Reiser's script offers no grand insights, it's full of sharply observed and funny detail. - 63
Philadelphia Inquirer
So powerful and tender are the scenes between Falk and Dukakis that by movie's end, I was wishing that the film had been more about the marriage of Sam and Muriel and less about the father and son. - 63
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie is sort of a sideways version of "Sideways," even down to a scene where the two men join two women for dinner. The difference is, in "Sideways" the guys desperately want to impress the women, and in The Thing About My Folks, they want to impress each other. - 63
Philadelphia Inquirer
So powerful and tender are the scenes between Falk and Dukakis that by movie's end, I was wishing that the film had been more about the marriage of Sam and Muriel and less about the father and son. - 63
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie is sort of a sideways version of "Sideways," even down to a scene where the two men join two women for dinner. The difference is, in "Sideways" the guys desperately want to impress the women, and in The Thing About My Folks, they want to impress each other.
