MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 301 this week

Family Business (1989)

 -  Comedy | Crime | Drama  -  15 December 1989 (USA)
5.5
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 5.5/10 from 7,254 users  
Reviews: 30 user | 18 critic

Jessie is an ageing career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently on the straight and narrow, has had a... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay)
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 3627 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 142 titles created 15 Jul 2011
 
a list of 4252 titles created 21 May 2012
 
a list of 1379 titles created 30 Sep 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Family Business (1989)

Family Business (1989) on IMDb 5.5/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Family Business.

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

The Freshman (1990)
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

Clark Kellogg is a young man starting his first year at film school in New York City. After a small time crook steals all his belongings, Clark meets Carmine "Jimmy the Toucan" Sabatini, an... See full summary »

Director: Andrew Bergman
Stars: Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, Bruno Kirby
Analyze This (1999)
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A comedy about a psychiatrist whose number one-patient is an insecure mob boss.

Director: Harold Ramis
Stars: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

Two New Yorkers are accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college, and one of their cousins--an inexperienced, loudmouth lawyer not accustomed to Southern rules and manners--comes in to defend them.

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Stars: Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei
Office Space (1999)
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Comedic tale of company workers who hate their jobs and decide to rebel against their greedy boss.

Director: Mike Judge
Stars: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Lawrence and Freddie are con-men; big-time and small time respectively. They unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that this town (on the French Mediterranean coast) aint big... See full summary »

Director: Frank Oz
Stars: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A loser of a crook and his wife strike it rich when a botched bank job's cover business becomes a spectacular success.

Director: Woody Allen
Stars: Woody Allen, Carolyn Saxon, Tracey Ullman
Analyze That (2002)
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X  

Mobster Paul Vitti is released into Dr. Ben Sobol's care, where only more chaos ensues.

Director: Harold Ramis
Stars: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot.

Director: Charles Crichton
Stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline
Heathers (1988)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A girl who half-heartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics.

Director: Michael Lehmann
Stars: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty
Dragnet (1987)
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X  

The equally-straight-laced and "by the book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.

Director: Tom Mankiewicz
Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

A bitter ex-husband. A put upon momma's boy. Both want their respective spouse and mother dead, but who will pull it off?

Director: Danny DeVito
Stars: Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, Kim Greist
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A couple, cheated by a vile businessman, kidnap his wife in retaliation, without knowing that their enemy is delighted they did.

Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
Elaine (as Rosana DeSoto)
...
Victoria Jackson ...
...
...
Marilyn Cooper ...
Salem Ludwig ...
Nat
...
...
Judge (as James S. Tolkan)
Marilyn Sokol ...
Thomas A. Carlin ...
Tony DiBenedetto ...
Edit

Storyline

Jessie is an ageing career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently on the straight and narrow, has had a fairly shady past and is indeed no stranger to illegal activity. They both have great hope for Adam, Vito's son and Jessie's grandson, who is bright, good-looking, and without a criminal past. So when Adam approaches Jessie with a scheme for a burglary he's shocked, but not necessarily disinterested.... Written by Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

15 December 1989 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Negocios de familia  »

Box Office

Gross:

$12,195,695 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sean Connery is only thirty two years older than Matthew Broderick, but plays his grandfather. See more »

Goofs

When Jessie McMullen confronts Jimmy Chiu in his car, he calls him by his real name (Wong). See more »

Quotes

Jessie: Hey, you bald-headed prick! Don't you ever get caught on the take. Because if you wind up in any joint I'm in, you'll leave feet first.
See more »

Connections

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) See more »

Soundtracks

"The Tenement Symphony"
Written by Hal Borne and Sid Kuller
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
A strong cast dragging along the weight of a dead film, with mediocre results.
4 April 2011 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, and Matthew Broderick play grandfather, father, and son respectively in a heist movie that is less about the heist and more about the family that pulls it. Matthew Broderick is the good son, smart, squeaky clean, and destined for the good life beyond the criminal past of his father and grandfather, except he wants nothing to do with that life and instead dreams of being a thief. To help him on his way is the original thief of the family (Sean Connery), much to the dismay of Broderick's father (Dustin Hoffman) who is eventually pressured into helping with the heist against his better judgment.

Much of the film is spent exploring the familial relationship of the three men. The grandfather is an unrepentant thief who thinks his son is a quitter. The father is angry at the grandfather for never giving him the opportunity to be anything other than a criminal. The son is angry at the father for not giving him the opportunity to be a thief like his father and grandfather before him. The actors are talented and the premise is good but the movie lacks a certain intangible aspect that prevents it from being anything other than mediocre. The movie is just too......ordinary, for lack of a better word. There is no real flair for the dramatic, no golden comedy moments to remember, just a story idea that is dragged forward by the strength of the cast, and little else.


3 of 5 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Dustin Hoffman as Sean Connery's son??? icarus_04
Most Enjoyable WeaponXProject
Bald headed.... Thorpe89
Life Imitates Art: scenes shot at Imclone imdbmail2000
Anyone recognize the Chinese restaurant? cruisingbug
Adam's Mother rikmrk1
Discuss Family Business (1989) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page