Peter Falk may never break out of his "Columbo" character in our collective memory, but he gives it a noble try with a wonderful portrait of a man who lives to be 107, playing him in the final 30 years of his life.
Falk's centerpiece performance is the anchor for "Roommates," an uneven but enjoyable heart-tugger, with enough humor to help us over the rough spots.
The film begins in Pittsburgh, circa 1963, as Rocky Holeczek is roughly 77 and his son and daughter-in-law have both passed away. Eccentric and irascible — he whistles "Roll Out the Barrel" to himself at a funeral — Rocky is both endearing and frustrating to his relatives as he revels in old-world attitudes and unbending family loyalty.
But the family is experiencing hard times, and after the deaths of his parents, there is talk of putting young Michael in an orphanage. Rocky will have none of that, however, and announces that he is going to raise his grandson. And he does.
Over the next 30 years, they live as roommates . . . in varying forms. During Michael's childhood, Rocky, who is an accomplished baker, supports the boy while putting him through school. Later, when Michael (played as an adult by D.B. Sweeney) goes away to college, the apartment building where Rocky lives is scheduled for wrecking, so Rocky moves in with Michael — and his Chinese room-mates. "They're all Commies," Rocky mumbles before teaching them the fine art of gin rummy.
Michael goes to medical school and during his residency falls in love with a crusading social worker named Beth (Julianne Moore). Rocky disapproves and tries to throw stumbling blocks in their way, as if he's a petulant child who is afraid his own relationship will suffer if theirs blossoms (see the review of "Man of the House" for the petulant child version). And later, Beth's rich and stern mother (Ellen Burstyn) also disapproves.
Michael becomes a heart surgeon, he marries Beth and they have children, and Rocky lives with them — threatening to outlive them all. There are good times and bad, joys and tragedies, and Rocky never becomes any easier a companion.
But through it all, as Rocky says in the film's early moments, family takes care of family. And that is essentially what this movie is all about.
Episodic and a bit lumpy in places, "Roommates" does bite off a bit more than it can chew and is certainly predictable in places. But it is nonetheless a sweet, charming and funny movie that will likely win the audience over quite easily. Sweeney and especially Moore (who co-stars in "Vanya on 42nd Street," which also opens this week) are very good, as is Burstyn.
There is little question, however, that this is Falk's movie, and he runs away with it. His winning performance is measured and rather brave, as there are times when Rocky could become as overbearing and frustrating to the audience as he is to his family. But he manages to make us repeatedly feel for Rocky's position, even when we might not necessarily agree with it.
"Roommates" is rated PG for considerable profanity and vulgar comments.