It Runs in the Family *** (2003, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Bernadette Peters, Cameron Douglas, Diana Douglas, Michelle Monaghan, Rory Culkin) – Classic Movie Review 5094

The long-awaited meeting of Michael Douglas and his father Kirk Douglas on film had to wait till Kirk was 87 and had suffered a major stroke. Still, better late than never.

In director Fred Schepisi’s entertaining 2003 comedy drama, the Douglas clan plays three generations of a New York Jewish dysfunctional family trying to get it back together, despite all their emotional physical and marriage problems. Michael Douglas’s mother Diana Douglas plays Evelyn Gromberg and his son Cameron Douglas plays Asher Gromberg.

Jesse Wigutow’s writing is a bit uneven, but the acting and the affection the clan is held in certainly sees it through. Alas, it was hardly seen in the UK.

Also in the cast are Cameron Douglas, Diana Douglas, Rory Culkin, Michelle Monaghan, Bernadette Peters, Geoffrey Arend, Sarita Choudhury, Irene Gorovaia, Annie Golden, Mark Hammer, Audra McDonald, Josh Pais, Louie Torrellas, Jonathan Mondel, Wynter Kullman and Kelly Overton.

Michael Douglas’s mother Diana Douglas died on 3 July 2015, aged 92. He said she ‘was a class act’ and had a ‘wicked sense of humour’.

Cameron Douglas was finally released from prison in August 2016, after being sentenced to a five-year prison term for possession of heroin and selling methamphetamines in 2010.

Kirk Douglas celebrated his 100th birthday on 9 December 2016.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5094

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