Mighty Fine (2012)

That was an excellent one.

Sadly Over-hyped

I'll tell you why so serious

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I was very surprised to see that Mighty Fine has such a low score on IMDb. I can't figure out why that is. It was a very well done movie, with distinctive characters. Chazz Palminteri was excellent as a loving, but troubled father. Andie MacDowell was better in this movie than I have seen her in other films -- less wooden and her accent is strong and consistent. The actress, Jodelle Ferland, is a beauty -- very similar in looks to Megan Fox. The actress playing the younger sister, Rainey Qualley was quite expressive and consistently good. The ending was somewhat unexpected but satisfying. All in all, it's well worth viewing.

Mighty Fine focuses on a Jewish-American family in the 1970's after they move from Brooklyn into a luxurious new home in New Orleans. The head of the family is Joe Fine, played by veteran actor and one of my favorite leading men Chazz Palminteri, accompanied by his wife Stella (Andie MacDowell), his oldest daughter Madie (Rainey Qualley), and his younger daughter Natalie (Jodelle Ferland). Joe and Stella are beyond excited for this new change - even Natalie, the young writer of the family holds some dearly strong optimism. The one who objects the most is Madie, who sees her father's allegedly kind gesture as an act of inexcusable selfishness as she had to drop everything, leave her friends, and now assimilate to a culture she doesn't remotely hold interest in.Just when you think this takes over and becomes the facile plot-point of the film, the curve-ball is thrown. We see Joe's descent into madness, with stress at work boiling over his head, family disconnect, and bottled-up rage coming through like never before. He becomes verbally and physically abusive towards his wife and children, threatening violence, embellishing every little mistake, etc. All while Natalie captures her thoughts through diary entries.Mighty Fine is a semi-autobiographical tale of writer/director Debbie Goodstein's childhood, which was surrounded by success with her writing and heartbreak with her father's mental instability. It's admirable to see that the film never seems to channel the lines of self-indulgence or self-satisfaction. It's surprisingly conducted on a small-scale and never seems overreaching. The film is so small-scale, at times, it feels like a TV pilot - a competent one, at that. We get to know the characters, we see their hardships, then when the credits finally role, we realize we wouldn't really mind seeing them again anytime soon.However, at seventy-nine minutes, it feels as if Goldstein was handed the runtime prior to shooting and told to make a film that wouldn't go a minute over eighty. Mighty Fine seems to casually go about its runtime for the first forty to forty-five minutes, then rushes to include the plot-points of stress escalation, characters with mental states on the tipping point, suicidal thoughts, fights, etc in the last thirty minutes. The biggest problem is that this is all happening way too quickly, with certain little plot-strands being abandoned right after they're brought up.Fortunately, Might Fine at least rebounds with its competence and gentle, well-articulated craft of storytelling and focus. The family is given a wide-range or interaction with each other, and Goldstein is essentially filming on an open range with several characters to look at, doing a fine job (or a mighty fine job) of giving them all their own time to shine. This is simple, genial fare, but it remains impressive given its lack of indulgence or mediocrity in tone.Starring: Chazz Palminteri, Andie MacDowell, Rainey Qualley, and Jodelle Ferland. Directed by: Debbie Goldstein.

The film tells the story of family who relocates from the big city of New York to the southern town of New Orleans. Joe, the father is a charming, larger-than-life character who wants to be Super Dad to his two daughters. Stella, the mother is a holocaust survivor who spends her days trying to make Joe happy. The daughters 16 year old Maddie is at the point in her life where she is starting to think for herself and seek friendships outside of the family. Natalie the younger sister always stays optimistic and tries to see the good side of people even when they're not at their best. Everything seems normal and fine to the outside world but every family has secrets and Joe's anger and outbursts may threaten everything.

The Mighty Fine red carpet blogger movie premiere and Q&A session afterward with Chazz Palminteri and Jodelle Ferland was amazing!Most of the time I watch movies to escape or just enjoy the moment but Mighty Fine goes in a completely different direction. Set in the 1970's helps viewers remember their childhood, complete with an 8 track player and disco ballUnfortunately family life is not ideal and soon the viewer witnesses the inner workings of a man unraveling from his rage. Anyone who has ever been through an abusive situation will understand the movie in an all too familiar way.Everyone has a role to play and it may be very uncomfortable for you to recognize the rebel, the poet, the enabler, or even the ticking time bomb. What is important is that you recognize it.Every adult should see Mighty Fine. This movie is for the ones who have been through it, the ones who cause it, and the ones who have no understanding of it. Mighty Fine will open your eyes.