THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS
Directed by: Raymond De Felitta.
Produced by: Robert F. Newmyer, Paul Reiser & Jeffrey Silver.
Written by: Paul Reiser.
Director of Photography: Dan Gillham.
Edited by: Sheila Amos & David Leonard.
Music by: Steven Argila.
Released by: Picturehouse.
Country of Origin: USA. 96 min. Rated: PG-13.
With: Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, Elizabeth Perkins & Olympia Dukakis.

Maybe it's because I've become a huge Mad About You fan, thanks to Lifetime reruns, or perhaps it's because this dramedy is a sweet, touching film about those imperfect people we call family that I fell for Paul Reiser's new film.

Reiser wrote the screenplay and stars as Ben Kleinman, a happily married Manhattanite and father of two, a character very much like his Paul Buchman in his long-running sitcom. His world is shaken when his irascible father, Sam (Peter Falk), visits unexpectedly. Although Sam says that nothing is wrong, Ben and his wife Rachel (Elizabeth Perkins) are not buying it - dad, who lives in New Jersey, never visits at night and never without his wife Muriel (Olympia Dukakis). Sam finally confides that Muriel has left him after 47 years of marriage, her only explanation a cryptic note on the fridge stating she needs to be somewhere else right now and she needs to be there alone.

While Rachel and his wacky sisters play amateur detectives to find Muriel, it's up to Ben to keep Sam preoccupied. Not enthused about the task, Ben relents nonetheless and invites Sam to come along with him on a drive to upstate New York, where Ben is looking to buy a house. Everyone knows, though, that in the movies a simple drive to the country never goes as planned. What starts out as a day trip turns into an emotional and meandering road trip between father and son: secrets are revealed; Ben's childhood wishes of fishing and camping with his dad come true; and the pair gets to know and love each other - and learn a little bit about women - as they never had before.

The issue with Muriel is resolved in the end, but her return is not the heart of the story, rather it's Ben's discovery his father is human. He also learns he is not so immune to following in his father's misguided, but well-intentioned footsteps. A welcome change from the glut of mother/daughter dramas, The Thing About My Folks would have been a perfect Father's Day release, but its Borscht Belt humor and heartfelt emotion work any time. Tanya Chesterfield
September 16, 2005