The plotting is so contrived and unconvincing that Bend tastes more like emotional leftovers.
Around the Bend (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:92
Fresh:27
Rotten:65
Average Rating:4.9/10
Synopsis: "Around the Bend" is inspired by the relationship between writer-director Jordan Roberts and the absentee father he barely knew. It tells the story of four generations of men who are suddenly... "Around the Bend" is inspired by the relationship between writer-director Jordan Roberts and the absentee father he barely knew. It tells the story of four generations of men who are suddenly brought together by the chance to uncover the truth about their family's past. The journey will take them out on the road to a world full of surprises-some comic, some dramatic, and all of them personal. Jason Lair (Josh Lucas) is a simple man with a simple wish: a normal life. This isn't an easy goal for the mild-mannered bank employee: Jason is newly separated from his wife, who has left him to care for their six-year-old son Zach (Jonah Bobo) while she paints in Nepal, and his ailing grandfather Henry (Oscar® winner Michael Caine), a former archaeologist close to death, is investigating alternative rituals for his impending funeral ("I'm not going in the ground!" he protests.) So when Jason's estranged father and Henry's son Turner (Oscar® winner Christopher Walken), whose checkered past includes exploits from the musical to the criminal, pays the family an unexpected visit, nothing is 'simple' or 'normal' in Jason's life anymore. In the coming days, the somewhat reluctant Lair men will embark on a trip not only through the mythic beauty of the Desert Southwest, but across the family's own rocky emotional landscape. Forced together by a deep loss, these very different people find a great deal along the way-devastating secrets, amazing discoveries and, just as Henry wanted… each other. Warner Independent Pictures presents a Kirkham-Lewitt Production "Around the Bend," directed by Jordan Roberts from his original screenplay. Producers are Elliott Lewitt and Julie Kirkham. Executive Producer is Ronald G. Smith. Director of photography is Michael Grady. Production designer is Sarah Knowles. Editor is Francoise Bonnot, A.C.E. Costume designer is Alix Friedberg. Composer is David Baerwald. The film stars Christopher Walken, Josh Lucas and Michael Caine. Also in the film are Glenne Headly, Jonah Bobo and Kathryn Hahn. -- © Warner Independent [More]
Starring: Christopher Walken, Joshua Lucas, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly
Starring: Christopher Walken, Joshua Lucas, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Jonah Bobo, Norbert Weisser, David Eigenberg
Director: Jordan Roberts
Director: Jordan Roberts
Screenwriter: Jordan Roberts
Producer: Julie Kirkham, Elliot Lewitt
Composer: David Baerwald
Studio: Warner Independent
Reviews for Around the Bend
Endearing performances and a witty script make up for the awkward pacing and maudlin premise. **
This movie is too precious by half, but the smooth, unhurried performances of Caine and Walken (along with the sturdy work of Josh Lucas) allow plenty of room for forgiveness.
While he avoids the bathos found in many male weepies, screenwriter and first-time director Jordan Roberts never quite goes the distance into compelling drama, either.
It’s rare for a film of average substance to feature the diverse gifts of a legendary actor, but director Roberts is smart enough to linger on Walken’s intense, gaunt face.
Gentlemen, it's a male chick flick -- 'The Dirty Secrets of the Ya-Ya Brotherhood.'
Around the Bend has outstanding acting and a short running time, and still the story runs thin.
Sometimes you have to dig up the past and deal with it. Life is full of little surprises and nice moments and this movie has both.
The kind of thing that would be playing nonstop if there were a Lifetime Network for Men
The premise is one of those only-in- the-movies deals: Walken, Lucas and Bobo take off on a road trip during which old family wounds are instantaneously healed while the sun sets in the west.
Around the Bend unflinchingly deals with grief and emotional scars, but it offers a life-affirming meditation on familial ties that bind.
Michael Caine and Christopher Walken breath spirited life into debut writer/director Jordan Roberts' road trip of family bonding in this independent movie with a big heart.
Latest News for Around the Bend
January 12, 2006:
Critical Consensus: A Regal "Holiday," A Well-Trodden "Road," A Tepid "Tristan"
This week at the movies brings us films about a risk-averse woman cutting loose ("Last Holiday"), a groundbreaking underdog basketball team ("Glory Road"),... More...
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