Watching this movie was like visiting old friends that one sees on the holidays or goes on vacations with. I simply loved this movie and all of the little quirks in each of the characters: Mag's classical music stress relievers, Patrick's blindness, Alfred's compulsive neatness, Izzy's annoying observations, Percival's rebelliousness, Gideon's guilt, Merle's and Darren's twinness, and finally, Simon's hair. The fact that each character has something different about him or herself shows that this "dysfunctional" American family is just about as normal a family as I've ever met. One of the best qualities of this movie is that the issues and the family roles that are portrayed by and between each character are very realistic. My mother and I, as we watched the film, could relate to many of the scenes. My mother continually nodded her head as Mag went from scene to scene with a motherly presence so dominating it simply defined her as the representation of every mothers' unconditional love. My favorite moments in the movie occurred between Mag and her youngest son, Simon. Right from the get-go, there is just some unexplainable bond between the two of them that permeates the screen when only the two are involved, even when they scream at each other. Their relationship is a very special one that I can relate to. Izzy's devoted relationship to his father is one that I can relate to as well. Considering this family as "dysfunctional" is like considering the Pope a Hindu, which brings me to my next best quality about the movie. I love the relationships in the film and the honesty that each character shares with one another. For example, the scene near the beginning of the movie where Izzy is greeted by Alfred and the two go on to joke about Mag and her "Mussorgsky-mode" stress relief is pure magic. A scene between two brothers such as this one shows how much the two brothers love and respect one another. It also shows how in-tune to the family they are because they know the goings-on that occur with their mother, the sporatic blindness that occurs with their father, and just about everything that occurs with their other brothers. The relationships in the film are what holds the film together so well. Each character is forced to reevaluate how he or she feels about every other family member and how those relationships will either improve or grow stronger from the hardships placed before them. Susan Sarandon's portrayal of Margaret Singer was absolutely golden, Nick Stahl's portrayal of Simon was both poignant and hilarious at the same time. Over the course of an hour and thirty-eight minutes, I absolutely fell in love with this family, I felt like I've known them for years. Wonderful feel-good film.