★★☆☆☆
Dir. Debbie Goodstein. 2012. R. 80mins. Chazz Palminteri, Andie MacDowell, Jodelle Ferland.
It’s the 1970s, and gruff factory owner Joe Fine (Palminteri) is moving his Holocaust survivor wife (MacDowell) and two daughters from Brooklyn to New Orleans for a fresh start. Joe has a legendary temper that keeps his ladies in cowering check, while his business acumen is so off track that he borrows large sums of money from a local mafioso. What will it take for him to change his evil ways? Despite a committed performance from Palminteri (ripping through scenes like an aged bulldog), Debbie Goodstein’s loosely autobiographical drama is as nondescript as made-for-pennies independents come. Its most distinctive aspect, unfortunately, is the hilarious sight of MacDowell struggling to speak German-accented English.—Keith Uhlich
