Family Business (1989)

Director: Sidney Lumet

Writer: Vincent Patrick

Composer: Cy Coleman

Starring: Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick, Rosanna DeSoto, Janet Carroll, Victoria Jackson, Bill McCutcheon, Deborah Rush, James Tolkan, Luis Guzman, BD Wong

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  There's nothing like a good robbery... to bring a family together.

Plot:  Jessie is an ageing career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently on the straight and narrow, has had a fairly shady past and is indeed no stranger to illegal activity. They both have great hope for Adam, Vito's son and Jessie's grandson, who is bright, good-looking, and without a criminal past. So when Adam approaches Jessie with a scheme for a burglary he's shocked, but not necessarily disinterested....

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Probably not.


I caught this in the theater in '89 and I walked out bewildered.  Part of it was Coleman's sometimes-out-of-place score (as if it legitimately was intended for a film in the 40s but there were some nice parts, too) and the casting.  I LOVE Sean Connery and he's great in this but it's a big stretch to try and convince me that he's Dustin Hoffman's father.  I'm glad he did the picture but he stands out more than he probably should.  The family lunch scene when Adam (Broderick)  brings his gal, Christine (Jackson), is fun and uncomfortable.  It shows how honest and intimidating Connery can be.  It's not a bad picture and there are some strong moments.  Fans of any of these three cats should check it out.  The Tri Star DVD sports an anamorphic widescreen print with 3 trailers (this film and DONNIE BRASCO (both fullscreen) and THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS (anamorphic widescreen) for the only extras.