The Thing About My Folks
- Peter Falk: Sam Kleinman
- Paul Reiser: Ben Kleinman
- Olympia Dukakis: Muriel Kleinman
- Elizabeth Perkins: Rachel Kleinman
- Mackenzie Connolly: Lilly Kleinman
- Lydia Jordan: Mia Kleinman
- Ann Dowd: Linda
- Claire Beckman: Hillary
- Mimi Lieber: Bonnie
- Bernie McInerney: Mr. Harrison
Pure Thing ( Original title: The Thing About My Folks ) is an American road movie comedy drama with elements from 2005 with Peter Falk and Paul Reiser in the lead role.
Action
Ben and Rachel Kleinman want to put on an evening just her two children to bed, when suddenly Ben's father Sam is at the door. It was only surprised by the unusual visit, they quickly learn that there is an important reason for this. Sam was unexpected and apparently leave without just cause by his wife Muriel, with whom he has been married for 47 years. She left him only a letter without concrete explanations.
Sam stayed first in the family and the next day father and son take a trip to a property, intend to buy Ben and Rachel. Due to a remark by Sam nothing is out of the purchase and Ben is so upset and distracted that he drives into a tree on the way back. Due to the car breaks down both need to stay in a small town and the next day bought Sam spontaneously on the grounds of the auto repair shop a restored Ford Deluxe Coupe of 1940. By car, the two embark on the road this weekend and try the problematic father -son relationship work up in recent years. Along the way they pick up even after what never was time for both: go fishing together, watch a baseball game, play pool and drink beer.
Ben also had an old letter from Muriel to Sam doing, she had written before the birth of Ben, but no one ever showed and from which no one knew anything. In this letter, Muriel complains about her husband Sam and writes that she felt unhappy. When Sam reads the letter, he is angry and can not believe what his wife has written since. Father and son have a lot to discuss and come now many previously unspoken issues discussed.
Meanwhile, Ben's sisters Muriel found: she is terminally ill and has only a few months to live. Sam and Ben go to her to the hospital. Sam can not understand why she has kept from him their disease. The disease itself and to prove again that she has the strength to leave her husband, was the real reason for their disappearance. As Muriel is discharged from the hospital, she died some time later. Sam lives then at Ben and Rachel, but only a little later he dies. Ben's wife Rachel gives birth to a son, and regrets that this no longer has the opportunity to meet his grandparents. The family gathers around the grave stone of the two grandparents.
Background
The film was shot in various locations in New York and New Jersey. Its world premiere took place on 2 June 2005 at the Seattle International Film Festival, which was followed by several other film festivals. On 16 September 2005, he launched in selected cinemas in the USA, where he recorded about 815,000 U.S. dollars. In Germany and in several other countries, it was not published in the cinema, but straight to DVD.
Reviews
Sheri Linden wrote in the Hollywood Reporter, the film avoid "simple loops " and " sugar-sweet conclusions ". Instead, he opts for dynamic characters who would played by the two main actors " perfectly capable ".
The lexicon of the International film wrote that the film was a " tragicomedy to male self-esteem and self-image that never really tragic or comedic tones " and use " the chatter " verpuffe. Peter Falk was the only one of the actors, which had been " some scenes written on the body".
Awards
The film received two special awards from the National Board of Review and the Audience Award at the Nashville Film Festival in 2005. Peter Falk received a prize from the Milan International Film Festival in 2006.