Around the Bend

2004

Drama

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 60% · 97 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 60% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 4586 4.6K

Plot summary

A tale of four generations of men, all of whom have had their offspring at a young age: a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father in his twenties and a son who is about 7 years old. When the oldest member passes away, the trio heads out on the road together in the Southwest to search out an old family secret that connects to their past.

Director

Top cast

Kathryn Hahn as Sarah
Michael Caine as Henry Lair
Christopher Walken as Turner Lair
Josh Lucas as Jason Lair
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
766.1 MB
1280*726
English 2.0
R
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds 6
1.54 GB
1906*1080
English 5.1
R
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds 14

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by =G= 6 / 10

A lukewarm misfire for sentimentalists

"Around the Bend" tells of a father (Walken) and son (Lucas) whose lives cross after 30 years apart as the death of their patriarch (Caine) draws near. The body of the film is a road trip which they take, leaping from one Kentucky Coronel Fried Chicken restaurant to another, following the quirky instructions of the dearly departed whose cremated remains are scattered one spoonful at a time as the long estranged men seek reconciliation of old regrets. "Around the Bend" has some worthy sentiment buried in a heap of inconsequential filler, a few poignant moments which break through the monotony of developing characters who are quirky for the sake of quirkiness, and some solid performances which almost overcome the everpresent snippets of corny C&W music. Those who don't mind paper thin plots, many contrived moments, drama diluted with overtones of silliness, and lots of filler may be able to buy into the bittersweet stop and go story. Others will be sorely disappointed to see good performances and camera work wasted on such a flimsy story. (C+)
Reviewed by dbborroughs 7 / 10

The first twenty minutes are great, the rest is just okay

I can not recommend the first twenty minutes of this film enough. These are the 20 minutes containing some of the best work by Christopher Walken and Michael Caine, or perhaps any film actors in history. Everything about the beginning of this movie leads one to believe that this is going to be a great family drama/comedy. Unfortunately the film takes an odd turn and becomes a road film thats nowhere near as tight and focused as the start. Esssentially this is the story of fathers and sons and crimes unforgiven. The idea of the road trip is to put the skeletons to rest and to bring peace and closure to a very wounded family. The cast of this film that makes up the four male generations of this broken family is excellent. They make a real go at making what happens believable, even though once the VW micro-bus hits the road it falls apart with plot holes and inconsistency. Its never bad, but its never what the first part of this film promised. Still its worth renting or seeing on cable for two of the greatest performances I've ever seen.
Reviewed by yusufpiskin 7 / 10

WB but independent

This movie has made such an impact on myself as well as my family. There are very few that we all recall and share the same joy from. I did a trip very similar to theirs, minus the dead people, and it truly stands out as a more significant summer (got tired of KFC too lol). Christopher Walken is a favorite of mine and he plays his charcter who is one that hurts and though it isnt clearly made mentioned, it is evident he constantly battles the reflections he comes to terms with about the decisions hes made. Nothing can be more powerful in a performance when one conveys the unspoken in such a way that Walken does in this movie. This movie is a testament about how family is eesential because we are all flawed and we need that strength no matter our differences among family members. Truly such an underrated movie vut one that will stand as one of my favorites.
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