Coupe de Ville

"A comedy for everyone who ever struggled to love a brother...or strangle one."

1990 1h 39m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🥫

25%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 46🥫25%Rotten Tomatoes★6.7IMDB · 2,666

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Meet the Libner brothers: Marvin, the oldest, is a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. Buddy, the middle child, is a timid dreamer. Bobby, the youngest, is a handsome rebel in reform school. As kids, they fought a lot and as adults, they barely speak. In the summer of 1963, their tough and eccentric father, Fred, gives them a task: to bring a 1954 Cadillac, bought for their mother, Betty, from Detroit to Miami. As the trip goes on, the three brothers fight and begin to reconnect with each other, while trying to keep the Caddy in mint condition.

“A comedy for everyone who ever struggled to love a brother...or strangle one.”

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Cast

Patrick Dempsey
Robert 'Bobby' Libner
Arye Gross
Buddy Libner
Daniel Stern
Marvin Libner
Annabeth Gish
Tammy
Rita Taggart
Betty Libner
Joseph Bologna
Uncle Phil
Alan Arkin
Fred Libner
James Gammon
Dr. Sturgeon The Cadillac Surgeon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joe Roth
Writers: Mike Binder
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joe Roth, shot by Reynaldo Villalobos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Paul Hirsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Patrick Dempsey and Arye Gross and Daniel Stern carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A comedy for everyone who ever struggled to love a brother...or strangle one.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0099310 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joe Roth directs. Reynaldo Villalobos behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Paul Hirsch cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
3Directed by Joe Roth, shot by Reynaldo Villalobos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Paul Hirsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Patrick Dempsey and Arye Gross and Daniel Stern carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A comedy for everyone who ever struggled to love a brother...or strangle one.".
8IMDB entry: tt0099310 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 46 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Reynaldo Villalobos
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Paul Hirsch
Production design: Angelo P. Graham
Costume design: Deborah L. Scott
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $715
Original language: EN
IMDB: Coupe de Ville (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes: 25% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 2,666 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Also by

Joe Roth

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-05-24
★ 8/10
The Three Jabonies A trio of feuding brothers who haven't seen each other for five years reluctantly embark on a road trip orchestrated by their dad. Their mission is to simply fetch a vintage Coupe de Ville from Detroit and deliver it to the family home in Florida - then dad plans to present it to his wife as a birthday present. Tensions run high as the three brothers, one military - one dreamer - and one rebellious teen, must survive each other and ensure the car comes to no harm or face the consequences. Coupe de Ville is directed by Joe Roth and stars Arye Gross, Daniel Stern & Patrick Dempsey as the brothers, Alan Arkin & Rita Taggart as the parents & Annabeth Gish drops in as the love interest angle. Though holding few surprises with the basic conceptual formula, it's a film that can brighten up the darkest of days and really deserves to be better known. Anyone who has been involved with sibling rivalry can identify with the brothers from the outset, whilst the ultimate revelations of the narrative hit all the emotional beats. We open with a sequence of the boys as youngsters, naturally they are fighting in the bedroom. Fast forward twelve years and they undertake this journey that has cunningly been set up by the father (a delightful turn from Arkin), cue arguments and a number of humorous set ups executed skilfully by Messrs Stern, Gross and Dempsey. Along the way they of course run into problems and obviously encounter the usual array of interesting characters that tend to fill out the "road movie" genre. Fun as it is though, pic is not all about the comedy, it has something to say, and it's possibly through thes more serious and poignant moments that Coupe de Ville soars a little higher than your basic coming of age picture. The cast are strong right through and Roth has a very easy on the eye directing style, while the soundtrack is top dollar for those into 50s and 60s rockers. There's no new ground being found here, something that has in the past been used by notable critics to beat it over the head with. Yet it's an easy film to fall in love with, it has a lot of resonance to those in tune with the themes pulsing away, and ultimately it's as funny as much as it is a worthy message picture. Go on, give it a go if you get the chance, it just might strike the same chord with you as it did with myself. 8/10
John Chard2019-05-26
★ 8/10
The three jabonies. A trio of feuding brothers who haven't seen each other for five years reluctantly embark on a road trip orchestrated by their dad. Their mission is to simply fetch a vintage Coupe de Ville from Detroit and deliver it to the family home in Florida - then dad plans to present it to his wife as a birthday present. Tensions run high as the three brothers, one military - one dreamer - and one rebellious teen, must survive each other and ensure the car comes to no harm or face the consequences. Coupe de Ville is directed by Joe Roth and stars Arye Gross, Daniel Stern & Patrick Dempsey as the brothers, Alan Arkin & Rita Taggart as the parents & Annabeth Gish drops in as the love interest angle. Though holding few surprises with the basic conceptual formula, it's a film that can brighten up the darkest of days and really deserves to be better known. Anyone who has been involved with sibling rivalry can identify with the brothers from the outset, whilst the ultimate revelations of the narrative hit all the emotional beats. We open with a sequence of the boys as youngsters, naturally they are fighting in the bedroom. Fast forward twelve years and they undertake this journey that has cunningly been set up by the father (a delightful turn from Arkin), cue arguments and a number of humorous set ups executed skilfully by Messrs Stern, Gross and Dempsey. Along the way they of course run into problems and obviously encounter the usual array of interesting characters that tend to fill out the "road movie" genre. Fun as it is though, pic is not all about the comedy, it has something to say, and it's possibly through the more serious and poignant moments that Coupe de Ville soars a little higher than your basic coming of age picture. The cast are strong right through and Roth has a very easy on the eye directing style, while the soundtrack is top dollar for those into 50s and 60s rockers. There's no new ground being found here, something that has in the past been used by notable critics to beat it over the head with. Yet it's an easy film to fall in love with, it has a lot of resonance to those in tune with the themes pulsing away, and ultimately it's as funny as much as it is a worthy message picture. Go on, give it a go if you get the chance, it just might strike the same chord with you as it did with myself. 8/10