THE FAMILY TREE – The Review

This indie black comedy certainly kept me on my toes! THE FAMILY TREE is a twisted glimpse into the lives of a not so twisted family.

Jack Burnett (Dermot Mulroney) and his wife Bunnie (Hope Davis) are burnt out. They are unhappy in their marriage, find little thrill in life, and seem to have settled on their daily routine. What’s worse, is that this has affected their children.

Eric Burnett (Max Thieriot) is obsessed with religion, and shooting guns. His pastor, Reverend Diggs (Keith Carradine), has been his inspiration, teaching him how to shoot. And even giving him guns as gifts. Did I mention that Reverend Diggs is also quite the pot smoker? As for Kelly Burnett (Brittany Roberts), she is a good girl pretending to be bad. She has given herself a bad reputation, when in reality she’s a good girl.

Luck strikes this family (since therapy obviously didn’t work!) in a strange way, and Bunnie is stricken with a case of amnesia. With her abrasive new self forgotten, she is left with only the positive memories, leaving plenty of room for this family to heal.

There is a LOT going on in this movie! I can safely say that I was entertained the entire time. The large cast, including smaller roles played by Christina Hendricks, Rachael Leigh Cook, Selma Blair, Madeline Zima, Bow Wow, and Jane Seymour, just adds to the twisted, yet fascinating story of this crazy town.

When I left the theater, I was slightly taken aback. I knew that I enjoyed the film, but I still needed to process it all. With the abundance of side stories and crazy subject matter, it was a lot to process. My conclusion is that I liked the film, but it’s not a film that I could watch over and over again. THE FAMILY TREE has a nice impact upon first viewing, but I don’t think that the comedy part of this black comedy, or the dialog for that matter, is enough to hold up after viewing it a couple of times.

Having said that, I still think that it is worth seeing. It gives a jab at the dysfunctional family. Heck, most of us have our own crazy family situation. That’s why this film works. There is a huge market for films about the dysfunctional family system, especially if it pokes fun at it. We all need a relatable laugh!

The acting in this film was wonderful. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about this hard hitting cast. They tackle (in their roles) everything from drugs, adultery, sexuality, religion, and bullying. They tied the story together nicely, and do a great job of keeping the audience on point throughout the ADHD of story lines. I just wish there was a little more in this black comedy script to bring out the laughs that I know these actors can bring out of an audience.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars