RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Friends and Family
Friends and Family

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Friends and Family (2002)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
44 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:18

Fresh:8

Rotten:10

Average Rating:4.4/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:May 16, 2003 Limited

Synopsis: Stephen and Danny are a gay male couple who are enforcers for a New York Mafia family. Stephen's parents, who know that their son is gay but not that he works for the Mafia, decide to pay a... Stephen and Danny are a gay male couple who are enforcers for a New York Mafia family. Stephen's parents, who know that their son is gay but not that he works for the Mafia, decide to pay a surprise visit, sending Stephen and Danny into a panic. Hilarious complications ensue, as an ever expanding crazy-quilt of characters adds to the fun.

"Friends and Family" is a seamless and exuberant blend of the witty screwball comedies of the 1930s with the riotous unpredictability of French farce. Gorgeously shot in lavish urban settings, "Friends and Family" is the independent film that doesn't look like an independent film. Blessed with an expert cast including both seasoned veterans and exciting newcomers, "Friends and Family" revives a bygone tone of elegance and urbanity and weds it to an up-to-the-minute sensibility that is very much of today.

Presiding over the mayhem are Tony Lo Bianco as mob boss Victor Patrizzi, Greg Lauren and Christopher Gartin as Stephen and Danny, Beth Fowler ("Sister Act") as the force of nature otherwise known as Stephen's mother, Tovah Feldshuh ("A Walk on the Moon") as a midwestern housewife to whom there is more than meets the eye, familiar comic actors Edward Hibbert, Meshach Taylor and Louis Zorich and, in her first screen role in forty years, Anna Maria Alberghetti as Stella Patrizzi. [More]

Starring: Tony Lo Bianco, Greg Lauren, Christopher Gartin, Tovah Feldshuh

Starring: Tony Lo Bianco, Greg Lauren, Christopher Gartin, Tovah Feldshuh, Rebecca Creskoff, Beth Fowler, Edward Hibbert, Meshach Taylor, Brian Lane Green, Anna Maria Alberghetti

Director: Kristen Coury

Director: Kristen Coury
Screenwriter: Joseph Triebwasser
Producer: Kristen Coury, Joseph Triebwasser, Linda Moran
Composer: Kurt Hoffman
Studio: HERE Films

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Oct 21, 2003

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • "A cross between La Cage aux Folles and The Sopranos." - Variety
  • Stephen and Danny are a hip Manhattan gay couple who have only one little secret - they work for the mob. To host a party for Steven's Dad, they enlist their fellow mobsters to pose as gay waiters at their fake catering company - with hilarious complications! 87 min. DVD is [CC]
  • Source: Wolfe Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Friends and Family

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 >> >|
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    03/26/09
    Robert Koehler
    Robert Koehler
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    01/26/06
    Time Out

    Which is worse? Lame jokes about gays or lame jokes about the mob?

    Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
    12/26/03
    Jay Boyar
    Jay Boyar
    Orlando Sentinel

    You haven't lived until you've seen a bunch of straight goombas taking a crash course in swish history, the better to pose as employees of a catering company.

    Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
    12/25/03
    Steve Schneider
    Steve Schneider
    Orlando Weekly

    Is the movie finding its jokes in subverting the stereotypes or in the stereotypes themselves?

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    10/30/03
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    Makes the clobbering minds behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding seem the apotheosis of subtlety and nuance by comparison.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    10/22/03
    David Noh
    David Noh
    Film Journal International

    A passably entertaining comedy of accretion that doesn't amount to much.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    10/03/03
    Ken Fox
    Ken Fox
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    There's no rhythm or style to any of it, just the dismal feeling that the filmmakers have seen La Cage Aux Folles and The Godfather too many times.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    10/03/03
    Randy Cordova
    Randy Cordova
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    An overloaded, slow-moving series of predictable jokes and forced situations.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    10/02/03
    Dave Kehr
    Dave Kehr
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    First-timer Coury's fast pace can't outrun Joseph Triebwasser's predictable script, saddled with mobster clichés and queer stereotypes.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    09/30/03
    Jorge Morales
    Jorge Morales
    Village Voice
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    the making of Friends and Family must have been more than watching it, but not much more.

    Full Review Source: PopcornQ | comment Comment
    08/21/03
    Brandon Judell
    Brandon Judell
    PopcornQ

    "The Sopranos" meet "La Cage Aux Folles," with a heavy and happy emphasis on humor which camps up the gay stereotypes.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    07/30/03
    Phil Hall
    Phil Hall
    Film Threat

    Never thought I'd say this about a film, but it's just not gay enough. Wait to rent it.

    Full Review Source: Supercala.com | comment Comment
    06/27/03
    John Venable
    John Venable
    Supercala.com

    Wants very much to mimic the screwball comedies of the forties with a gay twist, but the script and direction are simply too clumsy to carry it off.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    06/20/03
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    The movie is slick, the boys are gorgeous, and most of it is innocent fun, but the romp is spoiled by the subplot in very bad taste.

    Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
    06/20/03
    Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
    Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
    TheMovieChicks.com

    Predictable fun, but fun all the same.

    Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
    06/19/03
    Philip Wuntch
    Philip Wuntch
    Dallas Morning News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Despite their missteps, first-timers Kristen Coury, as director, and writer Joseph Triebwasser create enough silliness to keep things amusing.

    Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
    05/23/03
    Laura Kelly
    Laura Kelly
    South Florida Sun-Sentinel

    It's a dreary, 'when will it end' Birdcage rip-off.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    05/16/03
    E! Online

    Painless, sweet comedy.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    05/15/03
    Sheri Linden
    Sheri Linden
    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Director Kristen Coury has made a technically polished first film, but her sense of comic timing and sexual politics is strictly borscht belt.

    Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
    05/14/03
    Chuck Wilson
    Chuck Wilson
    L.A. Weekly
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 >> >|
    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…
    19% 19% Transformers: Revenge …
    55% 55% Orphan
    43% 43% The Proposal
    26% 26% Land of the Lost

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    98% 98% Up
    88% 88% Ballast
    67% 67% The Merry Gentleman

    More New Releases…

    See All

    RT On Current TV

    The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

    DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

    Learn how you can be part of the show

    More...

    What’s Hot On RT

    60+ New Moon pics

    60+ New Moon pics

    You want Twilight images? We got 'em!

    Transylmania

    Transylmania

    Cheeky trailer for the vampire comedy!

    John Cusack

    John Cusack

    We list his 10 top rated movies!

    Salt trailer

    Salt trailer

    Angelina Jolie! Espionage! Check it out!

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Rachel McAdams Rumored for Spider-Man 4 Source: Mania.com
    126
    • Danny Elfman Leaves The Wolfman Source: Cinemusic.net
    22
    • Oldboy Remake Rumored Dead Source: Latino Review
    13
    • Francis Lawrence Directing a Futuristic Sgt. Rock Source: Hollywood Reporter
    2
    • Can Avatar Make Money? Source: New York Times
    97
    • Robert Pattinson Says Breaking Dawn Could Roll in Fall 2010 Source: Collider.com
    34
    • Joe Johnston Talks The Wolfman Source: Ain't It Cool News
    8
    • Jason Schwartzman Talks Scott Pilgrim Source: Collider.com
    1
    • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
    102
    • J.J. Abrams Producing Micronauts Movie? Source: Wall Street Journal
    11
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints
    43
    • Total Recall: John Cusack's Best Movies
    40
    • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies
    36
    • RT on DVD: Up, the Ultimate Watchmen Cut, and More
    36
    • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
    34
    • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks
    32
    • Friday Harvest: Prince of Persia, The Road, and more!
    26
    • Five Favorite Films with Roland Emmerich
    22
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    14
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    14
    • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
    15
    • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    8
    • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
    28
    • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
    28
    • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
    14
    • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
    40
    • Michael Moore: The RT Interview
    139
    • Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview
    4
    • Neill Blomkamp talks District 9 - RT Interview
    51
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • Friends and Family at Rotten Tomatoes
    • Friends and Family at AskMen

    Fresh Links

    Featured
    Worst Movie Biopics
    Worst Movie Biopics External Link

    Moviefone brings us 9 failed attempts at biographical films.

    Top Cameron Crowe Moments
    Top Cameron Crowe Moments External Link

    TIME reminisces on the 10 most iconic moments from the films of Cameron Crowe.

    November Films
    November Films External Link

    BuzzSugar wants to know which movies coming out this month you're most looking forward to.

    The New Cult Canon
    The New Cult Canon External Link

    The AV Club takes a look back at Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo

    IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


    By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
    IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.