The Thing About My Folks
Review by Stefan Ulstein | posted 9/16/2005
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Paul Reiser, who wrote, produced, and stars in the new film, The Thing About My Folks, calls it "a fictional story based on real Jews." Indeed, it could be described as Jerry Seinfeld meets Woody Allen—but with a strong moral center. But such reductionism would negate the film's delightful and original take on a baby boomer (Reiser) and his confusing relationship with his earthy, salesman father, played by Peter Falk.
Reiser's real-life dad was a huge fan of Falk, and Reiser inherited that appreciation. In conceiving his film, Reiser did not consider any other actor to play the role of his father.
Peter Falk and Paul Reiser star as a father and son
The result is one of the most delightful collaborations to hit the big screen in a long time. Falk and Reiser are immediately believable as they tentatively attempt to cross the generation bridge that's kept them from intimacy. Sam, the father, has spent his life building up his carpet business from "two guys with a clipboard and a desk," to a thriving concern that provided a secure life for a son and three daughters. The kids, including Ben (Reiser), had the best of everything and went on to college, all compliments of dad. Like so many men of his generation, Sam returned from the war and grabbed every opportunity for success. But that success came with a price. Sam's Greatest Generation emerged from the double challenges of the Depression and WWII with a fierce work ethic. His idea of a good father was a hard worker who saved money and provided for his family. Ben, like so many boomers exempted from that life-and-death struggle, is in therapy trying to find himself. Sam figures that he knows exactly where he is, thank you very much.
When Sam's wife (Olympia Dukakis) abruptly leaves him after forty-seven years of marriage, he is dumbfounded; he simply can't understand what he has done that would drive his wife away. All those years when he was traveling or working late, he was sweating away to build a better life for his family. He was not a womanizer, a drinker or a gambler. By his standards, he was an exemplary husband. Why can't everybody see that? His three daughters, on the other hand, are surprised that their mother didn't leave earlier. Ben is confused and conflicted.
This premise is not new; it's been done before, but rarely with such finesse and tenderness, or with such riotously funny dialogue. There is hardly a false note as Sam and Ben embark on a road trip in upstate New York. Ben laments that his father never did the usual guy things with him as he grew up. Where was the fishing and camping? "You want fishing? Let's fish," Sam says defiantly. They outfit themselves with stylish vests, waders and hats, and end up standing in a swiftly moving stream, looking hysterically out of place. Likewise, the camping leaves something to be desired.
Father-son bonding time over a good game of pool
In an interview at the Seattle Film Festival, Reiser said his script took "twenty years and six weeks to write." He found an early draft where he was twenty-seven and his dad was fifty-five. "Now I'm forty-nine and Peter is seventy-nine. Soon it will be impossible to find a living actor old enough to play my father." So in six weeks he wrote a new script and began shooting. Like a fine wine, Reiser's vision has matured. It has body and a sweet finish. It's the kind of movie that wouldn't have come off as warm or wise had it been made earlier in Reiser's career. His love for his father is evident throughout, and it's a love that has grown with age and wisdom.
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