Edward Burns Family Saga 30 Years Later THE FAMILY McMULLEN - Mildly Amusing

 Renaissance man, Edward Burns, actor, writer, director, produce has been around the block. In his film "The Family McMullen" Burns puts a spin on the family dynamics 3 decades down the road. Still residing in the same Brooklyn hood, the McMullen brothers have increased in number, lost a beloved brother and still squabbling like functional, loving families tend to do. While on a 9 hour flight, I tuned into this 2025 film of which I hadn't heard of prior to being on board. This isn't surprising as it was only released in theaters in Oct. '2025 for a one-night-only special screening event. It was then released for screening on MAX in early Dec. ' 2025. Burns cast himself in the center of this family drama as the divorced father of 2 20-somethings (son, Tommy played by Pico Alexander and daughter, Patty played by Halston Sage). The sibling bickering between brother and sister was entertaining. The flirtatious banter between Tommy and his love interest Karen, (a terrific Juliana Canfield) was sizzling. However, where Edwards wanted the sparks to fly, romance only simmered. This was with the reuniting of a past flame, Nina (an almost unrecognizable Tralee Ellis Ross). The real standout of the film is the always bankable Connie Britton as Molly, the widow of Patrick (Mike McGlone) and Tommy's brother. The humor at the heart of this implausible sage stems from Tommy and Karen's romance rekindling a romance between Tommy and Nina. AWKWARD! More disingenuous is the religious Catholic fanaticism of Patrick who then hooks up with Susan, an old acquaintance who happens to be Jewish. The two crossed paths while in the waiting room of a psychiatrist. Patrick's first and last session with this psychiatrist was the funniest scene in the film. The family is found around the Thanksgiving table a year later with toasts and roasts to one another with additional guests: Nina, Karen, Susan and Molly's boyfriend (another blast from the past). Burns in his earlier film, "The Brothers McMullen" '1995 which won Best Picture at that year's Sundance Film Festival, wrote, produced, directed and starred as he does in this sequel; thirty years later. Acting is not Burns strong point as he tends to overact but hats off to carry-off a movie on multiple fronts. I was a captive audience for THE FAMILY McMULLEN on a marathon flight. It proved a pleasing diversion. THE FAMILY McMULLEN is an easy family film to watch with multi-generational gatherings over the holidays and on long haul flights. Also, anything that Connie Britton stars in is always worth watching. THE FAMILY McMullen the movie makes for an amusing albeit forgettable rom/com, dramedy.