Review of Keeping Up with the Steins (2006) by Nancys. — 02 Jul 2006

I think my opinion runs to the first review listed here from "The Onion". It does lose its way from a satire to a family story but, since I really didn't have any expectations, I was okay with that.

A satire about people who lack any sense of self-awareness in their amoral race to be on top? Watch "Thank You for Smoking" (which was well done but somewhat unsettling for me). The loss of direction here left Piven (and I am a fan of his intensity) with not a lot to work with but, overall, the actors were enjoyable to watch and the life lessons just this side of Hallmark Heartwarming.

I think if they had stuck to the vision from the satiric first part of the film all the way through. it would have been more of what the viewers posting here would have enjoyed. On the other hand, if they had taken the time to develop some of the themes and issues that were brought up in the family story, they could have had something quite thoughtful and satisfying.

The truncated scenes and TV-wrap-up did not provide any real depth. But, this is still something you could watch with your kids and talk about later...