Reel advice: Families in turmoil

In theaters:

The mobster relocation dramedy The Family (Relativity) opens with the three Ds: dinner, doorbell, death. Hitman Rocco (Jon Freda) looking to take out snitch Giovanni Manzoni (Robert DeNiro) and his family – wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), daughter Belle (Glee's Dianna Agron) and son Warren (John D'Leo) – accidentally slaughters some innocents. That's because Giovanni, now known as Fred, and his clan are in the witness protection program, safely relocated to Normandy, France.

The Family of the title not only refers to Giovanni/Fred's wife and kids, but also to the mobsters he betrayed when he turned state's witness. But that hasn't stopped Don Luchese (Stan Carp), living the life at Rikers, from sending out his minions to finish the job.

Of course, living in sleepy Normandy may kill the Manzonis before the mob does. That is if the Manzonis don't kill the Normandy townspeople first. It doesn't take the Manzoni family long to make their presence felt – Maggie blows up a grocery store after being disrespected, Giovanni/Fred disables a plumber and a fertilizer exec after being disrespected, Belle finds a new use for a tennis racket after being disrespected by a male classmate and Warren turns the tables on some pimply bullies after, you guessed it, being disrespected.

In the midst of all of this, Giovanni/Fred has decided to write his memoirs, which pisses off head Fed Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to no end. Giovanni/Fred also struggles to keep his "sadistic urges," often depicted in fantasy sequences, in check. But the father figure's impulses spill over into every aspect of family life and soon the others find themselves in unpleasant situations. Warren's grades at school are good, but due to his behavior issues he's considered a threat by the students and staff. Belle's seduction of a student teacher backfires on her. Maggie's time in a confessional booth seriously unsettles the local parish priest. Worst of all, instead of trying not to attract attention, Giovanni/Fred becomes something of a local celeb. Then, of course, a team of hit-men arrive to do their bidding, resulting in a violent conclusion.

The Family seems to be unable to make up its mind. When it's a comedy, the laughs are plentiful and satisfying. When it's a crime thriller, the same holds true. Unfortunately, it doesn't do both well at the same time leaving the audience as frustrated as the characters in the movie.

At home:

In Petunia (Wolfe), the first thing you learn about the Petunia family is how messed up they are. Psychoanalysts Felicia (Christine Lahti) and Percy (David Rashe) are virtually certifiable. Their sham marriage is coming apart at the seams. They never listen when the other one speaks and their sex life is nonexistent.

Felicia and Percy's oldest son Michael (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is newly married to Vivian (Thora Birch). Middle son Adrian (Jimmy Heck) is a sex addict who is honest about his addiction and attends SA meetings. But that doesn't stop him from having sex with those in attendance. Meanwhile, gay youngest brother Charlie (Tobias Segal) is having his own issues with sex. Describing it as "overrated" and a source of "anxiety," Charlie is celibate. He wears a rubber band around his wrist which he snaps whenever he senses an attraction to a guy.

Also attending the wedding is Vivian's cousin George (Michael Urie). There is electricity between Charlie and George when they meet. Despite his hesitation (and rubber band snapping), Charlie allows himself to become involved with George, who, coincidentally, just happens to be his downstairs neighbor.

Before you can say "dysfunctional family circus" everything goes awry. Vivian is pregnant, although she's not sure if the father is her husband Michael or brother-in-law Adrian with whom she had a fling. Felicia and Percy have drifted so far apart that they decide to divorce. Charlie and George's relationship hits a serious snag when it is revealed that bisexual George is married to Robin (Brittany Snow). From there, the mishaps, including Michael's failed suicide attempt and Felicia's unfortunate Ecstasy experience, begin to mount.

Petunia is no bed of roses. It is, however, a major improvement over writer/director Ash Christian's previous movie, the insufferable Mangus. To his credit, Christian assembled a more polished cast. However, the script (which falls apart towards the end) and Christian's direction, while improving, didn't necessarily offer the actors much with which to work. DVD bonus features include commentary by Christian and others, as well as the audio from a radio interview with Birch, Lahti and Urie.

Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair bounces back from the catastrophe of Amelia with the solid, suspenseful and thought-provoking The Reluctant Fundamentalist (IFC Films). Based on Mohsin Hamid's novel of the same name, The Reluctant Fundamentalist spans the years between a pre-9/11 2001 and 2011, when Changez (Riz Ahmed) evolved from Wall Street whiz to victim of racial profiling to the kind of instructor who would teach a course in violent revolution at a university in Lahore.

Beginning in 2011 Lahore, where an American college professor has been abducted by radicals, The Radical Fundamentalist uses the device of an interview with a journalist (and "spook") Bobby (Live Schreiber) for Changez to tell his story. Going back 10 years to Changez's job interview with Jim (Kiefer Sutherland) for a financial analyst position at Underwood Samson to his rapid rise in the firm to his meeting free-spirit photographer Erica (Kate Hudson), he relates his tale.

It just so happens that Erica is a poor little rich kid (something to which Changez could once relate before the changes occurred in Pakistan). She's also the niece of the Underwood in Underwood Samson. The young lovers begin a passionate, but cautious, relationship. Erica is still in mourning from the drunk driving accident (with her behind the wheel) that killed her boyfriend months earlier. But their bliss is short-lived.

While in the Philippines on business with Jim and others from the office, Changez sees the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center on the news. Back in the post-9/11 U.S., Changez is harassed and treated with disrespect as a foreign national. He is strip-searched and degraded at an airport. In spite of being "suited and booted," his relationships with his co-workers suffers and he begins to experience more frequent racism on the streets of New York and at the hands of the police. But the ultimate betrayal occurs at Erica's gallery opening where, unbeknownst to him, Changez was the subject of her show.

Changez tells his story to Bobby, whom Changez knows also works for the U.S. government, because he believes that if anyone can help him, it's Bobby. Following the abduction of the college prof in Lahore, Changez's family has been attacked, followed and had their home ransacked. Meanwhile, the tension continues to mount. Bobby isn't safe in the student tea house where he met with Changez and his government cronies are closing in on them.

Nair does a nice job of handling the dramatic tension throughout. Ahmed shines brightest here, although Hudson proves she can handle serious subject matter better than one might expect. Nair also deserves kudos for the film's subtle queer touches – Amy Ray performs in a bar where Changez and Erica go on a date, Sutherland's gay Jim lives with his male lover. Blu-ray special features include the trailer and a making of featurette.