Imagine if there was a sequel to Goodfellas
that followed mobster Henry Hill's attempts to live a boring "egg
noodles and ketchup" existence in the witness protection program, and
that's pretty much what The Family is. The meta pitch black comedy comes
from the unlikely combination of French director Luc Besson and exec-producer
Martin Scorsese, and if that sounds like a mix that shouldn't work on any level
then you'd be wrong. Mostly. With Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer glorying
in some of their finest mafia-inspired roles, The Family uses violence
as a weapon for some big laughs and bigger action, even if the tone may throw
some for a loop.
Nobody does mobster like De Niro,
and he easily dons the persona of former mob boss Gio Manzoni, who ratted out
his old crew and now has a $20M bounty on his head. Now known as Fred Blake, he
and his wife Maggie (Pfeiffer), and two kids Warren (John D’Leo) and Belle
(Dianna Agron) are on the move to Normandy after turning state's evidence and
entering witness protection. Leaving the old life behind is easier said than
done; Gio's first act upon arriving is to bury a stinking corpse; but it
doesn't help when your first reaction to every situation is to either whack
someone or blow stuff up.
This is also one of those movies
where the lead character fancies himself a writer, and he'll struggle the
entire time to put his thoughts on paper. We've seen it a thousand times but
Gio's past puts an interesting angle on it. Spilling his guts in a book
wouldn't just expose his family and further exasperate their grumpy handler,
agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones), but if Gio's old bosses catch wind of it
then they're all dead. 
Of course, the family is pretty good
at drawing attention to themselves without Gio's help. Maggie quickly grows
tired of the snooty French locals and takes explosive measures to correct. The
apple doesn't fall far from the tree with either child, as Warren quickly takes
over the high school and starts a side business that puts the bullies in their
place. Belle isn't just sexy, she has a vicious streak and hair-trigger temper that
she's not afraid to unleash on catty "mean girls" and potential
suitors alike. Like Al Capone said, and Gio is fond of quoting, "Asking
polite with a gun in your hand is better than asking polite with nothing.”
Based on Tonino Benacquista's
satirical novel Malavita (it means "Badfellas" and is the name
of the Blakes' dog) and co-written by the author, the film finds its biggest
laughs in the Blakes' fish-out-of-water mishaps as they try to blend in
unsuccessfully. Besson, who directed La Femme Nikita and The
Professional, can choreograph an action sequence with the best of them, but
comedy has never really been his strong suit. More overt attempts at
humor fall flat, like the constant commentary on French attitudes and their
cream-based cuisine. It works best when dealing with the family's various
eccentricities, which are played honestly and personally enough to be
effective. It's tough to square the excessive use of violence, especially
against people who probably don't really deserve it, but it's played in an
over-the-top fashion for a reason. We're expected to find it funny initially
because we're looking for this to be a comedy similar to Besson's From Paris
with Love, but over time the stakes raise to a deadly level and the
brutality comes with a severe price. 
Gio gets a chance to live up to his
criminal past and embrace his cover as an author by debating on a local
screening of Goodfellas, while poor Stansfield can only watch in
disgust. De Niro comes alive in this scene, like he's reliving the glory days
of his storied career. He's in full Analyze This mode, delivering a
tongue-in-cheek look at his vast array of mafia performances. Similarly,
Pfeiffer gets to break out her old Married to the Mob persona as the
fierce (and fearsome) Maggie, the long-suffering wife who will do literally
anything to protect her family. Her chemistry with De Niro is impeccable, two
screen veterans who have been in a pair of movies together before but never
shared a single scene. The wait was worth it. When they are together, whether
it's arguing over pasta or sharing an intimate moment, the film really pops.
D'Leo gives off a young Joe Pesci vibe as Warren, while Glee's Dianna
Agron makes a strong impression as Belle. Only Tommy Lee Jones seems to have
checked out, perhaps because he's not given much to do but grumble. 
In
none-too-subtle fashion, the film mocks our acceptance of the mafia in the
movies and television, then follows it up by a bloody shoot-out that leaves a
number of folks sleeping with the fishes. It's meant to make us think, but we
don't need Besson to beat us over the head with a baseball bat. The film is
clever enough on its own, and with De Niro and Pfeiffer doing what they do
best, The Family should be enjoyable to more than just wiseguys.
