[MIGHTY
FINE opens in Cleveland on
Friday May 25th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]
Review by Bob
Ignizio
It's the
seventies, and Fine family patriarch Joe (Chazz Palminteri) has done
well enough in the fabric business that he feels comfortable
uprooting his family from Brooklyn to move into a spacious new home
in Louisiana. He buys the house outright and has it put in his wife
Stella's (Andie MacDowell) name, ostensibly as a gift. There are other
reasons, but we don't learn these just yet. Older daughter Maddie
(Rainey Qualley) is a bit miffed that no one consulted her about the
move, but at least her younger sister Natalie (Jodelle Ferland) seems
hopeful.
On
the surface, things look pretty good for the Fine family. You might
even go so far as to say they're MIGHTY FINE,
to quote the title of the film. The same description could also apply
to Joe himself, with “mighty” in this case describing the way Joe
sees himself as a strong man capable of taking care of his family and
employees. All is not well, however, thanks to a combination of Joe's
bad business decisions and anger management issues. Ah, the title is
ironic.
Get it? Yes, we get it.
That
MIGHTY FINE
engages in such hamfisted wordplay is just one of its problems. Based
to some degree on writer/director Debbie Goodstein's own family
experiences and those of friends and contemporaries with similarly
angry fathers, MIGHTY
FINE
is at its best when dealing head on with what it's like to be the
wife or daughter of a man who can be wonderful and loving one minute
and go flying off on a rage the next. Unfortunately, Goodstein feels
the need to constantly juice up the drama with contrived subplots
like Joe borrowing money from the mob. Other aspects feel equally phony, like Natalie's efforts to
win a Campbell's Soup poetry contest.
The
best thing MIGHTY
FINE
has going for it are its actors, especially Palminteri. It would have
been really easy to take this character over the top, but Palminteri
finds just the right level of anger. He's not an evil person, just a
guy with some serious problems whose pride won't allow him to seek
help. MacDowell is excellent as well, managing to effectively portray
a character who isn't quite strong enough to do the right thing, but
isn't entirely a victim, either. Qualley (MacDowell's real life
daughter) and Ferland are believable teens, but to a large degree are
kept in the background even though the story is being told by the
adult Natalie (voiced by Sally Winters) via flashback.
Also
of note is the look of the film. Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski
shoots MIGHTY FINE
using
a color pallette reminiscent of a faded Polaroid, and the seventies
fashions are appropriately tacky without crossing the line into
unintentional parody.
Despite
its issues MIGHTY
FINE
feels sincere, and as previously noted does manage to hit its mark on
occasion. It's not nearly enough to make for a good film, though.
Just enough to show that the potential for a good film was there. 2
out of 4 stars.
As published on Examiner.com
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