It Runs in the Family (DVD, 2003)

Three generations of Hollywood's Douglas clan star in this family comedy that mirrors the ups and downs of the famous family's real lives. Following in the footsteps of ON GOLDEN POND Michael Douglas and his father Kirk Douglas appear onscreen together as a dysfunctional father and son struggling to understand one another. Michael Douglas stars as Alex Gromberg, a successful New York lawyer working in the firm that his own father, Mitchell Gromberg (Kirk Douglas), founded. While juggling his successful career Alex has lost touch with his own family, his wife Rebecca (Bernadette Peters) suspects him of infidelity and his two sons, college slacker Asher Gromberg (played by Douglas's real-life son Cameron Douglas) and 11-year-old Eli Gromberg (Rory Caulkin) are eager to rebel against their successful family lineage. Desperate to understand his sons, Alex finds himself reflecting on his own relationship with his father after years of competition and bickering. At the same time, his father is struggling to accept his own mortality after surviving a debilitating stroke. Together with his wife Evelyn (played by Kirk Douglas's first wife and Michael Douglas's real-life mother Diana Douglas) Mitchell attempts to recuperate while slowly passing the patriarchal torch to his son. The Douglas family triumphs onscreen in this heartwarming depiction of family dynamics skillfully directed by Fred Schepisi.