Family Business (1989)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers (WGA):

Vincent Patrick (novel)
Vincent Patrick (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 December 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Comedy

Tagline:

There's nothing like a good robbery... to bring a family together.

Plot:

Jessie is an ageing career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else...

Plot Keywords:

Passover | New York City | Box Office Flop | Family | Heist

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Jessie McMullen
Dustin Hoffman	...	Vito McMullen
Matthew Broderick	...	Adam McMullen
Rosanna DeSoto	...	Elaine (as Rosana DeSoto)
Janet Carroll	...	Margie, Waitress at Dohenys
Victoria Jackson	...	Christine, Adam's Girl
Bill McCutcheon	...	Danny Doheny, Bar Owner
Deborah Rush	...	Michele Dempsey, Adam's Lawyer
Marilyn Cooper	...	Rose Gruden, Elaine's Mother
Salem Ludwig	...	Nat Gruden, Elaine's Dad
Rex Everhart	...	Ray Garvey, Jessie's Lawyer
James Tolkan	...	Judge in 2nd Trial (as James S. Tolkan)
Marilyn Sokol	...	Marie, Vitel Meat Bookeeper
Thomas A. Carlin	...	Neary the Undertaker
Tony DiBenedetto	...	Phil, Selling Things That Fell Off a Truck

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Jericho, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

Sean Connery is only seven years older than Dustin Hoffman, but plays his father.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jessie McMullen confronts Jimmy Chiu in his car, he calls him by his real name (Wong).

Quotes:

Jessie: Come on. Let's pay our respects to the grieving widow before she falls flat on her face, drunk.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV)

Disappointingly flat comedy...

In this disappointingly recycled, dry and surprisingly unfunny comedy, a tri-generation family of males (Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick) with problems of their own mix paths in crime. Broderick is the grandson who wants to help his granddad pull off the heist. Hoffman works in-between as the worrier who knows exactly what's going to happen to his son. And it does.

Too bad Lumet never stopped to insert any laughs in this dry comedy with a top-notch cast that just barely manages to make it worth watching on television.

Just barely.

Don't go out of your way for this one.

2.5/5 stars

- John Ulmer