(1977)
2.5
Donald Guarisco
Despite plenty of talent in front of and behind the camera, this adaptation of a Richard Price novel ultimately comes off as a half-baked melodrama. The major flaw with Bloodbrothers is that this film wants to have it both ways: it wants to be a powerful drama about the vicious circle of abuse in a dysfunctional family and a feel-good crowd pleaser about a young man who follows his dreams at the same time. Unfortunately, Walter Newman's script is not up to its task: it veers back and forth between both aims in a schizophrenic style, values gaudy displays of emotion over character depth, and tries to work in a number of subplots that make the film too episodic to be dramatically effective. The script's problems are exaggerated by Robert Mulligan's direction, which exaggerates the colorful aspects of the Italian-American setting to a cartoonish level and allows the actors to bluster their way through their roles in a larger-than-life manner that overwhelms the story's sense of drama. The talented cast members give the story their all, but their efforts are undercut by their overbearing characterizations: Richard Gere and Tony Lo Bianco deliver plenty of method-acting fireworks but their threadbare roles aren't strong enough to justify these displays. Only Marilu Henner, wisely underplaying her role as a randy but insightful cocktail waitress, manages to create a genuinely appealing characterization. In the end, Bloodbrothers has its heart in the right place but is too overbearing and under-realized to be a truly affecting drama.
Blood Brothers on AllMovie
Blood Brothers (1977)
