Sorry, this movie sucks

One of my all time favorites.

I'll tell you why so serious

The acting in this movie is really good.

Jason Lair (Josh Lucas) is a single dad to Zach and living with his grandfather Henry (Michael Caine). Katrina (Glenne Headly) is their live-in maid. Then they are interrupted by the arrival of Jason's long absent dad Turner (Christopher Walken). When Jason was 2, he lost his mother in a crash and Turner disappeared into addiction. The sickly Henry is happy to see his son before he dies while Jason is bitter with his arrival. Henry and Zach is at the KFC where Henry type out elaborately planned notes as his will. He dies at the KFC and Jason is forced on a winding trip with his father as dictated by Henry.This is so desperate to be quirky and poignant that it really achieves neither thing. I hated Glenne Headly's quirky undecipherable accent. I hate the use of KFC. In real life, I love me some KFC. I love the old recipe. I love the new recipe. There is nothing better than some KFC as a treat. The over-use of KFC in this movie reeks of desperation. Maybe Jordan Roberts thinks this is great quirky fun. It is not enough to just show the KFC logo. It is not funny on its own. The first part is a tired depressed muddle.Walken and Lucas are perfectly good actors. They have some good father son moments. The material is not usually up to par. The kid contributes very little but he's very young. There are some good moments but it's not enough.

Banal, confusing, with a seemingly endless stream of lame histrionics. The actors appear to be sleepwalking. A tiresome one-note piece of crap.Caine manages to camp it up dutifully. Even more than usual, Walken appears to be impersonating a corpse. The score is annoying and irrelevant. The narrative contains not a single amusing scene. The whole mélange is an insult to the creative and productive act.So unremittingly awful that only those seeking a near-death experience should even consider it. Rigor mortis will set in quickly. It will drive anybody in search of even a tincture of human sensibility Around the Bend.Not even with Monopoly money, folks.

This is what is known as a "mid-sized movie", full of recognizable, but good, character actors, engaging dialog, strong intimacy, and no need to dazzle and impact a viewpoint of the audience. As that, it is perfect.The plot involves four generations of the Lair family, a kooky great-grandfather who deals with his impending death by thinking up alternative funerals, a grandfather who has been missing for decades due to a history of alcoholism and thievery, a son who "just wants to be normal" (we always know how well that works in family-driven films...), and a grandson who wants to go along for the ride because it will be fun. Once the grandfather (Walken) comes home, the great-grandfather makes some plans... only he has to die to make sure his progenitors will carry it through. Enter a road-trip, some spice-of-life, and a generous heaping of self-discovery, and voila, you get the prototype for this film.I think what's interesting about this movie is that it's full of dazzling panoramic long-shots of New Mexican sunsets, and yet in those shots maintains a close intimacy with the characters. Intimacy is the defining word in every case for this movie, as even when the characters are trying their darnedness to reject their family, their words bleed a need to be together. And they all know it.This movie isn't the type to last on the conscious of many viewers because it's so quiet and devoted, but it has strong sticking power to those few who really enjoy its color and colorful characters.--PolarisDiB

Picked this up on a whim because of the cast, had to be offbeat with Walken and Caine in the same film. Quite an absorbing story. I was quite surprised by the critical reaction, particularly observations about it's "sentimentality". One of the things I liked best about it was its refusal to wallow in sentiment. The father-son relationship has a satisfying culmination, but we're not asked to forgive and forget or feel warm and mushy.Some of Walken's best work, unapologetic and complex. Some great character performances. The quirkiness worked well for me. It's like the central character was born on the other side of the looking glass, trying to find normalcy when there doesn't seem to be any to be found. Loved the music, particularly the use of Leon Russell and Dylan. Highly recommended rental, including some rather interesting "deleted scenes".