Coupe de Ville

Directed by Joe Roth, Coupe de Ville follows three brothers (Daniel Stern’s Marvin, Arye Gross’ Buddy, and Patrick Dempsey’s Bobby) as they agree to drive the title vehicle from Detroit to Miami at the request of their intimidating father (Alan Arkin’s Fred). Filmmaker Roth, working from Mike Binder’s screenplay, delivers a mostly affable (yet entirely forgettable) endeavor that benefits from the agreeable, engaging efforts of its three leads, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that Coupe de Ville receives plenty of mileage out of the entertaining banter between Stern, Gross, and Dempsey’s respective protagonists – with, in addition, the movie benefiting substantially from Arkin’s brief (but predictably stellar) turn as the central characters’ irascible dad. The episodic bent of the film’s midsection does, however, result in a somewhat hit-and-miss atmosphere that wreaks havoc on its forward momentum, and although it closes on a very sweet, very satisfying note, Coupe de Ville has, by that point, cemented its place as an entertaining-enough drama that essentially vanishes from one’s thoughts minutes after the end credits have rolled.

**1/2 out of ****