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Family Business

5.6

3,046

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Original title

Family Business

Year

1989

Running time

116 min.

Country

United States

Director

Sidney Lumet

Screenwriter

Vincent Patrick. Novel: Vincent Patrick

Cast

Music

Cy Coleman

Cinematography

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Producer

TriStar Pictures

Genre

Mystery. Comedy | Family Relationships. Mafia

Synopsis

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....

Critics' reviews

"While everyone is proficient, this uneasy mix of comedy, thriller and melodrama fumbles its way through a forest of clichés and contrivances."

Variety Staff: Variety
"The three stars are good actors, but they have nothing much to work with. Their biggest challenge is to make the audience believe they are blood relatives"

Vincent Canby: The New York Times
"A frail little caper movie that’s overawed by its cast"

Peter Rainer: Los Angeles Times
"'Family Business' is one of Lumet’s very worst movies, but the actors are stellar."

Tim Appelo: Entertainment Weekly
"Done up strictly for laughs, this might have been fine. But the picture actually starts taking itself seriously, and that spells instant yawns"

Rick Groen: The Globe and Mail

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User history

Family Business

1989

Sidney Lumet

5.6

(3,046)