The Family McMullen

 The Family McMullen is like running into an old friend, they are a little older but haven’t lost a beat. Edward Burns’ three decades later sequel to his 1995 breakthrough The Brothers McMullen is a winning and worthy follow up that proves Burns’ still has a distinctive ear for dialogue and an understanding of human nature. The film follows the family as a new generation is living in the house on long island as both generations deal with life, love and belief and what that looks like 30 years on. This is clearly personal for Burns who brings these characters old and new into his world while not being afraid to acknowledge the changing times, getting older and finding love again juxtaposed to the new generation learning the lessons the McMullen clan had to learn back in 1995. The Family McMullen isn’t a perfect film, it lacks the rough DIY low budget grit of it’s predecessor and one storytelling choice i thought undercut the original a tad but overall it was lovely spending two more hours with these characters. 

I Give It 4 1/2 Stars!!!