Review of Checking Out

This movie started out strong. It's based however upon a play and really looks it. There is some terrific dialog and insights here but it all becomes unraveled too soon. Peter Falk has no business playing a man his own age, much less a man twelve years his senior; he's just too robust to pull this off. Further, his character Morris Applebaum has no actual disease or infirmities. Had the character actually had terminal cancer, there would have been more bravery in front of us. He lives very well in a doorman condo sumptuously appointed on the affluent upper West Side. So where's the beef? Why would he choose suicide? He doesn't seem to have any deep religious conviction that assures himself of greener pastures on the other side.

This is all played out as a sit-com for laughs with three too many characters and three too many sets. His family chasing him through a restaurant kitchen? Oh please. The ending, without giving it away, is as vastly disappointing as the whole send-up of this kitschy embarrassment. The actors, especially, Falk and Laura San Giacomo do a terrific acting job with a marred script.Perhaps rent-able but nothing more!