The Family Tree (2011)
Average Rating: 4/10
Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 18
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 3.6/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.6/5
User Ratings: 647
My Rating
Movie Info
Life in suburban Serenity, Ohio is never quite as serene as it appears. The dysfunctional Burnett family - Bunnie (Hope Davis), Jack (Dermot Mulroney) and their twin 17 year olds Eric (Max Thieriot) and Kelly (Britt Robertson) - seems like a lost cause. When a freak accident leaves Bunnie with a case of amnesia, the Burnetts get an unexpected second chance at happiness. Meanwhile, next door neighbor Simon (Chi McBride) is relieved that his tryst gone wrong with Bunnie remains undetected, at
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Cast
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Dermot Mulroney
Jack, Jack Burnett -
Hope Davis
Bunnie, Bunnie Burnett -
Chi McBride
Simon, Simon Krebbs -
Brittany Robertson
Kelly Burnett -
Selma Blair
Ms. Delbo -
Keith Carradine
Reverend Diggs -
Shad Moss
T-Boy -
Gabrielle Anwar
Nina Fouts -
John Patrick Amedori
Paul Stukey -
Evan Ross
Josh Krebbs -
Madeline Zima
Mitzy -
Christina Hendricks
Alicia -
Jane Seymour
Ilene -
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachel -
Evan Handler
Harv -
Jermaine Williams
Trey -
Steven Grayhm
Andy Porter -
Newell Alexander
Dr. Lieberman -
Eddie Hassell
Ricky Johnson -
Jake Richardson
Roy -
Pamela Shaw
Vice Principal Carnes -
Jack Kyle
Police Officer #1 -
Mac Brandt
Young Police Officer -
Adrian Alvarado
Uniformed Cop -
Peggy Etra
Eunice -
Ally Maki
Shauna -
Hannah Hodson
Ashley -
Colby French
Coach Sutton -
Christopher Bradley
Bobby Overmeir
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The Family Tree Trailer & Photos
All Critics (20) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (18)
To judge from the talent she drew for her shaky debut, Vivi Friedman must either be very well connected or an awfully smooth talker.
Top Critic"Mad Men" devotees may show up for Christina Hendricks, who plays Mulroney's buxom secretary. Quite the acting stretch.
Friedman's inability to successfully reconcile the film's duality undercuts an eclectic cast gamely committed to Mark Lisson's thematically ambitious, if scattered, script.
The only reason I can think of to watch Vivi Friedman's flat, satirical farce "The Family Tree" - and it's not a good enough reason - is the opportunity to play a game of spot the semi-star.
[It makes] a small case for not succumbing to nostalgic malaise -- too bad it's in a genre as played-out as [the] lead characters' passion.
The Family Tree is a surprisingly funny dysfunctional family comedy that manages to entertain throughout.
...a misguided and thoroughly obnoxious piece of work that wears out its welcome almost immediately.
There are too many branches on this tree trying to give every unemployed actor in Hollywood a job.
So in the end what we are presented with is a mildly affable comedy of familial dysfunction that wants to chide the times for being both morally and emotionally obtuse. Instead, The Family Tree winds up being little more than a film uprooted.
Another around-the-bend black comedy that doesn't work.
The Family Tree is never willing to try and really understand its family, instead creating wall of surface-level quirks as shorthand for their personalities.
Davis could play a role like Bunnie in her sleep, Mulroney often seems to be asleep and the rest of the overqualified supporting cast just appears relieved that their screentime is limited.
This black comedy about a dysfunctional family strikes out on all counts: originality, wit and viewer tolerance.
Like the body of a peeping tom high school student that hangs hidden in the Burnett's tree for the duration of the film, the direction of the movie remains dangling over audiences.
Think Overboard with masturbating, asphyxiated teens, gun-toting/weed-smoking priests, lesbian high school teachers preying on her students, a parade of wasted talent, and Bow Wow.
Here's a film that consists of a hodgepodge of blah. Too many subplots are crammed into this dramedy that leaves little for emotion or laughter.
fresh and engaging...and quite funny
There's not much dramatic glue here to huff, leaving The Family Tree satisfying on a technical level, with external developments more captivating than internal deliberation.
It has a terrific cast of actors doing committed work; it also has a screenplay that tries so hard to be quirky that it tires itself out.
The Burnett clan manages to encompass virtually every cliché of any dramedy made in the last decade that has garnered or hoped to garner Oscar buzz.
Audience Reviews for The Family Tree
Super Reviewer
The dysfunctional Burnett family - Bunnie, Jack and their twin 17 year olds Eric and Kelly - were perfect set up for that type of movies... especially when a freak accident leaves Bunnie with a case of amnesia! There are all kinds of twists in this comedy in which Burnetts get an unexpected second chance at happiness. We have a slew of past relationships, kids with guns, a suicidal lesbian teacher, a very zealous gun loving preacher, misinterpreted advances, corporate down-sizing, and one fateful squirrel... they together create enough mayhem to test the resolve, sanity and future of any family, and make you laugh - at least a little bit!
Cast includes Hope Davis (Bunnie Burnett), Dermot Mulroney (Jack Burnett), Max Thieriot (Eric Burnett), Britt Robertson (Kelly Burnett), Chi McBride (Simon Krebs), Evan Ross (Josh Krebs), Keith Carradine (Reverend Diggs), Madeline Zima (Mitzy Steinbacher) but most of the time they could not show what are they capable of under the director Vivi Friedman's leadership.
Super Reviewer
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- Jack: You guys were out shooting again, weren't you?
- Reverend Diggs: Your boy has a God-given talent, Mr Burnett.
- Jack: For what? Killing and maiming? Eric, you're weird enough as it is, without being some kind of a gun nut to top it off!
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- Bunnie Burnett: What about our Marathon for Manic Depression
- Jack: Or Sculling for Scoliosis?
- Bunnie: Shut up, Jack!
- Jack: Roller blading for Rectal Itch? Luging for Lumbago?
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- Jack: I bet we're the first family ever to be fired by our therapist.
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- Bunnie: I think it shows a little too much nipple...
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- Simon: Stop. Hammer time.
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Director: Vivi Friedman
Summary: Finnish director Vivi Friedman makes her feature-film debut with this dark comedy about wife and mother Bunnie Burnett, who loses her memory and conveniently forgets all of her problems -- including her interracial affair with a neighbor.
My Thoughts: "This movie is pure chaotic fun. It's silly, insane, and funny. You can not take this film seriously. I mean the preacher is a gun-slinging pothead. The film in throwing up dysfunctional all over the place. So of course I loved it. The characters are a lot of fun. Definitely worth taking a look at if you like dark, dysfuctional, and quirky films."