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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Road Trip Brings Out Family Foibles In ‘Daytrippers’

If there’s one therapy-oriented term that has overstayed its welcome, it’s “dysfunctional family.”

Anyone who has fought with, cried over, fought over and cried with family members knows that the term is, for all practical purposes, redundant.

What family isn’t dysfunctional?

Writer-director Greg Mottola takes the notion of - let’s call it “family neurosis” - to heart in his film “The Daytrippers,” which studies what happens when a quintet of New York-area suburbanites spends a day together in the big city.

Mottola’s focus is Eliza D’Amico (Hope Davis), the wife of a publishing executive (Stanley Tucci) who begins to suspect one day that her marriage might not be the trusting, passionate relationship that she believes it to be.

On the basis of a suspicious note, which quotes an obscure line from 17th-century English poet Andrew Marvell, Eliza - who for most of the movie appears to be in a daze - enlists her family in an effort to find out whether her husband is having an affair.

So she, her parents Rita (Anne Meara) and Jim (Pat McNamara), her sister Jo (Parker Posey) and Jo’s boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber) all pile into the family stationwagon and head downtown.

Mottola has structured his film simply enough: It’s a road trip to realization. Eliza finally gets the answer to her specific question, but she - indeed, everyone - is forced to face a lot more along the way. Much of what occurs concerns family issues long ignored, and much of it involves pain.

But even while the film takes a serious turn during its final 20 minutes, it remains fairly consistently comedic until then.

The central aspect of that humor involves human foibles. Eliza seems hopelessly needy, while Rita is the epitome of pushy mothers. Jo is the “bad” sister, Carl is the pretentious would-be writer (whose novel is a metaphysical study of, believe it or not, a man with a dog’s head) and Jim is the kind of dad who does what his wife says - until he is pushed too far.

In such a talented group of actors, Meara deserves special mention. The wife of comedian Jerry Stiller and mother of actor/director Ben Stiller has never been better.

And Mottola, too, has done a credible job for someone who, during the shoot, was barely 30 years old and working on a bare budget. He has a sharp ear for dialogue, he keeps his film moving well enough and he gets a lot out of his varied cast (two of which, Tucci and Campbell Scott, were central players in last year’s enjoyable “Big Night”).

Even so, he needs to work on transmitting the greater message.

Overall, “The Daytrippers” is a lesson in how NOT to have a family relationship. Among the people whom the family meets, for example, a range of intimacy issues are played out - an obedient son shelters his deadbeat dad, aging sisters discuss only how how each is cheating the other out of their dead mother’s estate. Etc., etc.

The problem is that Mottola seems to be targeting sisters Eliza and Jo as the ones most likely to get the point. By showing them what they might become - what they may have no choice but become - he seems to be urging them to wise up.

The feeling we’re left with is that only some of the characters are in a position to learn something - or are capable of learning anything at all. Yet we know that Mottola’s implied message applies universally.

The fact is, real life typically affords us all a second chance. That chance comes with experience, which involves another overused term.

It’s called maturity.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “The Daytrippers” **-1/2 Location: Magic Lantern Cinemas Credits: Written and directed by Greg Mottola, starring Hope Davis, Anne Meara, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, Pat McNamara, Stanley Tucci, Campbell Scott, Marcia Gay Harden Running time: 1:27 Rating: PG-13

This sidebar appeared with the story: “The Daytrippers” **-1/2 Location: Magic Lantern Cinemas Credits: Written and directed by Greg Mottola, starring Hope Davis, Anne Meara, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, Pat McNamara, Stanley Tucci, Campbell Scott, Marcia Gay Harden Running time: 1:27 Rating: PG-13