As I was watching this movie, it occurred to me that the story line could be one that professional critics would not like. After the credits rolled, I went online to read.
As expected, yes, many users or viewers enjoyed the movie as much as I did. We knew what lines the story would follow - the father obsessed with work and career, the loving home-based mother, the lovable, neglected children who yearn for their often physically and emotionally absent father's affection and attention. As expected too, most professional reviewers had nothing much good to say about it.
Yes, all totally formulaic but the way it was handled in "A Family Man" made it a very enjoyable and emotional ride with excellent performances from each of the actors. Max Jenkins, as the son Ryan, put in a particularly outstanding performance with a subdued, yet subtle portrayal capturing the emotions that made for a perfect buffer to Gerard Butler's loud, overbearing headhunter-father persona.
Each role was played with a small twist that separated them from what we would expect from a family drama. Absent were all the screaming, loud sobs and yelling other than a few which were short and aptly done.
Doctor Singh was a nice touch, adding again a more subdued and yet heart-warming approach to the usual on-screen doctor stereotypes. Despite the much-criticized formulaic script, the trips outside of the hospital gave us a deeper insight into the father-son relationship and how it develops very gradually and even almost imperceptibly.
Of special interest too were hospital scenes that were bereft of the usual gut-wrenching scenes of the pain of treatment. The one solitary emergency scene was short and nicely cut at the right time without the extended flurry and scurrying that ER scenes entail.
I was happy to read a viewer describe how he and the audience in a fully-packed theater gave a standing ovation at the end of a screening, which goes to show that professional critics in general may have become possibly too cynical in their outlook and what stories and movies about life should be like and, in so doing, distancing themselves from us, the people in the street. How many of us do not follow the general formula for life - childhood, education, work, getting married, raising a family, leaving a legacy? If viewers want a story that helps remind us of what we face in life and some of the values that we may have temporarily put into the closet, see this movie. Just don't expect too much. Immerse yourself in the characters.
In the end, too, we are reminded that what goes around does come around.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and it brought me much clarity as well as food for thought.
As expected, yes, many users or viewers enjoyed the movie as much as I did. We knew what lines the story would follow - the father obsessed with work and career, the loving home-based mother, the lovable, neglected children who yearn for their often physically and emotionally absent father's affection and attention. As expected too, most professional reviewers had nothing much good to say about it.
Yes, all totally formulaic but the way it was handled in "A Family Man" made it a very enjoyable and emotional ride with excellent performances from each of the actors. Max Jenkins, as the son Ryan, put in a particularly outstanding performance with a subdued, yet subtle portrayal capturing the emotions that made for a perfect buffer to Gerard Butler's loud, overbearing headhunter-father persona.
Each role was played with a small twist that separated them from what we would expect from a family drama. Absent were all the screaming, loud sobs and yelling other than a few which were short and aptly done.
Doctor Singh was a nice touch, adding again a more subdued and yet heart-warming approach to the usual on-screen doctor stereotypes. Despite the much-criticized formulaic script, the trips outside of the hospital gave us a deeper insight into the father-son relationship and how it develops very gradually and even almost imperceptibly.
Of special interest too were hospital scenes that were bereft of the usual gut-wrenching scenes of the pain of treatment. The one solitary emergency scene was short and nicely cut at the right time without the extended flurry and scurrying that ER scenes entail.
I was happy to read a viewer describe how he and the audience in a fully-packed theater gave a standing ovation at the end of a screening, which goes to show that professional critics in general may have become possibly too cynical in their outlook and what stories and movies about life should be like and, in so doing, distancing themselves from us, the people in the street. How many of us do not follow the general formula for life - childhood, education, work, getting married, raising a family, leaving a legacy? If viewers want a story that helps remind us of what we face in life and some of the values that we may have temporarily put into the closet, see this movie. Just don't expect too much. Immerse yourself in the characters.
In the end, too, we are reminded that what goes around does come around.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and it brought me much clarity as well as food for thought.