Everybody who has been fretting over Robert De Niro’s career of late can collectively exhale a sigh of relief. After carpet bombing the cinematic landscape with stinkers like The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Hide and Seek, Godsend, and Righteous Kill, De Niro finally settles into a nice little film devoid of gimmicks and action. Playing the widowed patriarch of four grown children, De Niro gives a quietly nuanced performance that grounds the film, and makes you remember why you liked him to begin with.
Everybody’s Fine tells the story of a very ordinary family and the events surrounding a holiday gathering. Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) is recently widowed, and has made plans to have all four of his grown children visit him for Christmas. He prepares the house, buys the groceries, purchases a new grill, and awaits their arrival. One by one each child calls and cancels with generic excuses-”something’s come up”, etc.
This is where De Niro first starts to reel you in. His face drops with each phone call, and you just want to go give him a hug, and go give his kids a good tongue-lashing for abandoning their poor, lonely dad on Christmas. After contemplating the circumstances, he decides to travel to each one of them, against his doctor’s orders (he takes medication for fibrosis of the lung.)
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