Family Business on DVD

Sean Connery is the crusty old patriarch who gets involved in one last heist courtesy of his grandson (Matthew Broderick) and much to the chagrin of his straight laced son (Dustin Hoffman).

Jessie (Connery) and his life of crime is an embarrassment to Vito (Hoffman) who, much like Michael Corleone (except more successfully than the Godfather) has been trying to raise his kid on the right side of the street.

But the kid, Adam (Broderick), has other ideas. He’s a whiz kid who could virtually write his own ticket into adult life, but he not only idolizes his gramp he has a plan for a heist that’ll set him up for life - and he wants Jessie to help pull it off. Jessie’s all for it, but Vito is horrified at the thought of his son throwing away his future in such a way.

But the job needs a third person and Vito eventually joins in so he can keep an eye on the kid and keep him out of trouble.

Of course this doesn’t happen. The job, a nice bit of industrial espionage, goes off well until they realize they’ve forgotten part of the booty back at the scene of the crime. Adam, the only one who knows what to look for, goes back in to get it and on the way out is nabbed by the cops.

What should the elders do? If they keep quiet, as Adam wants them to, he’ll go up the river for a long stretch; on the other hand, if they turn themselves in Adam can get off with a more lenient sentence. Jessie and Vito are at odds over what to do, causing even more family angst than they have already.

We really enjoyed this movie up until the point where Adam was arrested. To that point it’s a pretty rollicking yarn, but afterward it really slows down and bogs down, though not to the point where you want to eject the DVD before it’s finished playing.

All three leads are great in their parts, especially (not surprisingly) Connery and Hoffman, whose characters are opposites and who play off each other quite masterfully. Broderick doesn’t get as many good lines or situations as his costars, but he still does a good job as the young “upstart.” Connery has the most fun, while Hoffman plays the straight man.

The DVD is good. Columbia Tristar has released it with digitally mastered (in high definition) anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, and the picture quality is very good. Audio is Dolby Digital 2 channel surround and though it’s nothing to write home about it’s okay.

You don’t really get any extras here other than some theatrical trailers, which is a shame. We’d have loved to see a behind the scenes look at how these Major Stars worked together on the set. Oh well, at least they did a decent job on the movie’s DVD presentation and that’s the really important part.

Family Business, from Columbia Tristar Home Video
113 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital stereo surround
Starring Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick
Produced by Lawrence Gordon
Written by Vincent Patrick, Directed by Sidney Lumet

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