Send Comments to the Editors

U.S. Mail:
The Rice Thresher
6100 Main Street (MS-524)
Houston, TX 77005-1892

The Daytrippers adds an extra twist to the definition of "family film," departing from children's entertainment for a blend of comedy and drama aimed at adult audiences.

"I remember hearing some expert claim that 97 percent of all families are `dysfunctional,'" Daytrippers writer/director Greg Mottola said. "It made me [wonder] ... who are the freaks that make up that 3 percent of `functional' families?"

With the possible exception of the Brady Bunch, media families are rarely a clan of comfortably smiling ninnies with nothing more to worry about than planning vacations. It is safe to assume that most of us come from families that do not work exactly as they should, so it should be easy for us to relate to other dysfunctional families. This idea, combined with that of a road trip that forces an average American family to spend some quality time together, inspired Mottola to write Daytrippers .

With his award-winning debut, Mottola achieves everything Kevin Smith didn't in Clerks. Both films introduced promising young writer/directors who made their movies without the backing of a major studio. With Clerks , Smith practices his primary talent: reflecting what "real" Generation Xers talk and think about (i.e., sex and Star Wars ).

Mottola opts against Smith's brand of character: shallow with moments of deep enlightenment. Instead, he introduces characters who are just as ordinary, yet much more familiar -- people just like your parents and friends. Mottola's script gives us plenty of opportunities to laugh at the personalities that tend to get on our nerves.

For the first part of Daytrippers , the plot sweeps the movie along on an undercurrent of suspense while providing an excuse for us to eavesdrop on a "typical" family. At the end, an unexpected twist breaks through, unveiling the movie's dramatic side and making us ask ourselves about the meaning of love.

While cleaning up her husband Louis' (Stanley Tucci of Big Night ) things, happily married Eliza D'Amico (Hope Davis) discovers what appears to be a love note addressed to her husband from an admirer named Sandy. Afraid of what the note could mean for what seems to be a stable relationship, Eliza goes to her parents' house to ask their opinions. No one knows quite what to make of the situation -- though her sister Jo (Parker Posey) gives a hilarious 20th-century interpretation of the Andrew Marvell poem quoted in the note. The whole family decides to drive to New York so Eliza can confront Louis face-to-face about the letter at his workplace.

As the family travels to New York, we fall in love with all of them, despite their annoying characteristics. While Eliza nervously considers the possible explanations for the note, the rest of her family rambles. Between the babbling of Eliza's overprotective mother Rita (Anne Meara), the grunts of her Neanderthal father Jim (Pat McNamara) and the complaints of her rebellious sister (Posey), who brings along her fiance Carl (Liev Schrieber), the conversation never stops long enough for our attention to dwindle.

Jo never agrees with anything her mother says, and, to her growing dismay, Carl and her mother are crazy about each other. Everyone knows someone like Carl, an intellectual collegian who is a little too impressed with his own wit. Carl is the kind of guy you might find yourself discussing politics with at 3 a.m.: "The working class has God. What does the middle class have, infomercials?" Yawn. We understand how Jo could tire of him.

While trying to pass the time in the car, Carl proudly explains the novel he has just finished writing. His novel doubles as a social commentary and centers around the life of a man who is "normal in every way except for, you know, the dog's head."

Mottola has an amazing sense of humor that casually pokes fun at every character without badgering any of them. He depicts awkward situations and seems to enjoy characters and events with a sense of mystery -- qualities that make the movie all the more entertaining. For example, Mottola triggers our suspicions when the family gets to Louis's workplace, and Eliza discovers that he has taken the day off. In the meantime, a suave writer hits on the vulnerable Eliza while her mother tries to find out if Louis' secretary Cassandra ever goes by the nickname "Sandy."

Stuck in New York for the day, the family does its best to find Louis, a task that leads to several unusual encounters. Whether looking at the family lives of the main characters or those of the people they meet, Mottola makes some interesting observations. Along the way, the family meets both a young man who hides his criminal father in his apartment and two greedy old sisters who argue over how to divide an inheritance: "Then I get the Tylenol with codeine!" For a movie that appears to be about nothing more than family relationships, Daytrippers hits on so much more.

Many films alienate the audience with bizarre plots or unbelievable roles, but the familiarity of the characters in Daytrippers draws us right into the story. However, the show is not for everyone; it is most likely to hit home with college students and people who are just entering the "real world."

"I wanted a lot of the humor in the film to disarm the audience, to make [it] less prepared for the end," Mottola said. "I was really trying to create a whiplash effect, to recreate how it feels when you suddenly realize something you believed your whole life is not what you think it is."

If Mottola wanted whiplash to be the audience's reaction, his movie is a carefully crafted success. After sending us on a comfortable drive, he hits us with several surprising twists. Despite subtle hints to the contrary, the family in Daytrippers seems too nice to be jostled around. Nevertheless, their lives transform completely by the end, which comes too soon for a movie that attaches us so closely to its characters.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the April 11, 1997 issue.