Coupe de Ville (1990)

★ 6.4 1h 39m IMDb

Comedy Drama

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.

Where to Watch

Not available for streaming right now

Rent / Buy

Rent

Not available for rent

Buy

Not available to buy

Cast

Patrick Dempsey as Robert 'Bobby' Libner Age 60 · Lewiston, Maine, USA Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and race car driver. He is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in Grey's Anatomy. He had early success...

Arye Gross as Buddy Libner Age 66 · Los Angeles, California, USA Arye Gross (/ˈɑːri/; born March 17, 1960) is an American actor, who has appeared on a variety of television shows in numerous roles, most notably Adam Greene in the ABC sitcom Ellen..

Daniel Stern as Marvin Libner Age 68 · Bethesda, Maryland, USA Daniel Jacob Stern (born August 28, 1957) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films C.H.U.D., City Slickers and the first two Home Alone films, and as...

Annabeth Gish as Tammy Age 55 · Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Annabeth Gish is an American actress. She has played roles in films Shag, Hiding Out, Mystic Pizza, SLC Punk!, The Last Supper and Double Jeopardy. Despite persistent reports, she is not related to th...

Rita Taggart as Betty Libner Age 76 · Salinas, California, USA

Joseph Bologna as Uncle Phil Died 2017 · New York City, New York, USA Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 - August 13, 2017) was an American actor, director and writer. He is mostly remembered for his roles in the comedy films My Favorite Year, Blame It on Rio, and Transy...

Director Joe Roth

Cast Patrick Dempsey, Arye Gross, Daniel Stern, Annabeth Gish, Rita Taggart, Joseph Bologna, Alan Arkin, James Gammon, Ray Lykins, Chris Lombardi

John Chard 8/10 May 24, 2019

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 Chard 8/10 May 26, 2019

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