"A Family Man" juggles two realities of the hard-driving headhunter Dane Jensen at work in a cutthroat business world in contrast to his struggles in maintaining the semblance of family life as a devoted husband and dad. When his son develops cancer, Dane's life changes as he learns lessons about his workaholic lifestyle.
Much of the action is predictable, and much of the dialogue sounds scripted, as opposed organically deriving from character and situation. When an angry Dane berates his wife Elise in front a large family gathering at Thanksgiving, he broadcasts to the entire group that he "plays Santa Claus 365 days a year" and that Elise takes for granted his hard work and income derived from his grueling telemarketing exploits. Some of the dialogue even seems difficult to take seriously by the characters themselves, as serious conversations typically end on a comic note.
The roles of the husband and wife are well-performed by Gerard Butler and Gretchen Mol. There is also a sensitive performance the actor playing in the kind doctor. Alfred Molina is outstanding as the unemployed engineer Louis William Wheeler. Lou's reaction in the bathroom to the news of his new job is priceless.
An interesting part of the film was the little boy's fascination with the architecture of Chicago and his bonding with his dad when they visit five of the famous buildings. Those sites included The Rookery, The Tribune Tower, The Jay Pritzker Pavilion, The Wrigley Building, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Thomas Gale House. But once again, the dialogue sounded artificial as the father and son rattle off history lessons during their visits to the various buildings.
"A Family Man" is a workmanlike film that cobbles together traditional elements of the film melodrama. But it does not transcend the limitations of that genre in shedding significant light on the pressures of succeeding in business and family simultaneously.
Much of the action is predictable, and much of the dialogue sounds scripted, as opposed organically deriving from character and situation. When an angry Dane berates his wife Elise in front a large family gathering at Thanksgiving, he broadcasts to the entire group that he "plays Santa Claus 365 days a year" and that Elise takes for granted his hard work and income derived from his grueling telemarketing exploits. Some of the dialogue even seems difficult to take seriously by the characters themselves, as serious conversations typically end on a comic note.
The roles of the husband and wife are well-performed by Gerard Butler and Gretchen Mol. There is also a sensitive performance the actor playing in the kind doctor. Alfred Molina is outstanding as the unemployed engineer Louis William Wheeler. Lou's reaction in the bathroom to the news of his new job is priceless.
An interesting part of the film was the little boy's fascination with the architecture of Chicago and his bonding with his dad when they visit five of the famous buildings. Those sites included The Rookery, The Tribune Tower, The Jay Pritzker Pavilion, The Wrigley Building, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Thomas Gale House. But once again, the dialogue sounded artificial as the father and son rattle off history lessons during their visits to the various buildings.
"A Family Man" is a workmanlike film that cobbles together traditional elements of the film melodrama. But it does not transcend the limitations of that genre in shedding significant light on the pressures of succeeding in business and family simultaneously.