The Reunion (2011)
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Films and WWE Studios, with the wrestling star John Cena among its leads, “The Reunion” has no pretensions of originality, and maybe that’s just fine. It’s relaxing to watch formula roll in front of you if that formula is engaged with affection, and that’s the case here, much to the credit of the writer and director, Mike Pavone. He has even given “The Reunion” a sequel-begging conclusion and a gag reel with the closing credits. Boy, does “The Reunion” want to be liked.
And it will be, if you’re patient both with pace (there’s some slow going, and most audiences will be steps ahead of the plot) and clichéd storytelling. Here, three diverse brothers (Mr. Cena, a loose and funny Ethan Embry and a comfortably unaffected Boyd Holbrook) are united when their father dies. They’re told they’ll inherit his millions, but there’s a catch, as their sister (Amy Smart) explains: They have to become business partners.
Enter a perfect job for this cop, bail bondsman and former juvenile delinquent, involving a kidnapped billionaire (a fine Gregg Henry, of HBO’s “Hung”), Mexican landscapes (played by New Mexico), gunplay (but no blood) and the need to accept one another’s flaws. If you watch “The Reunion” with a similarly generous spirit, you’ll think they pull it off.
“The Reunion” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Limited violence without showing pain, and momentary sex without revealing skin.
THE REUNION
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Written, produced and directed by Mike Pavone; director of photography, Kenneth Zunder; edited by Marc Pollon; music by James Alan Johnston; production design by Raymond Pumilia; costumes by Claire Breaux; released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and WWE Studios. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes.
WITH: John Cena (Sam Cleary), Ethan Embry (Leo Cleary), Michael Rispoli (Nicholas Canton), Boyd Holbrook (Douglas Cleary), Gregg Henry (Kyle Wills), Lela Loren (Theresa Trujillo), Jack Conley (Jack Nealon) and Amy Smart (Nina).
And it will be, if you’re patient both with pace (there’s some slow going, and most audiences will be steps ahead of the plot) and clichéd storytelling. Here, three diverse brothers (Mr. Cena, a loose and funny Ethan Embry and a comfortably unaffected Boyd Holbrook) are united when their father dies. They’re told they’ll inherit his millions, but there’s a catch, as their sister (Amy Smart) explains: They have to become business partners.
Enter a perfect job for this cop, bail bondsman and former juvenile delinquent, involving a kidnapped billionaire (a fine Gregg Henry, of HBO’s “Hung”), Mexican landscapes (played by New Mexico), gunplay (but no blood) and the need to accept one another’s flaws. If you watch “The Reunion” with a similarly generous spirit, you’ll think they pull it off.
“The Reunion” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Limited violence without showing pain, and momentary sex without revealing skin.
THE REUNION
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Written, produced and directed by Mike Pavone; director of photography, Kenneth Zunder; edited by Marc Pollon; music by James Alan Johnston; production design by Raymond Pumilia; costumes by Claire Breaux; released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and WWE Studios. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes.
WITH: John Cena (Sam Cleary), Ethan Embry (Leo Cleary), Michael Rispoli (Nicholas Canton), Boyd Holbrook (Douglas Cleary), Gregg Henry (Kyle Wills), Lela Loren (Theresa Trujillo), Jack Conley (Jack Nealon) and Amy Smart (Nina).
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