Checking Out (2005 film)

Plot (excerpt)

Morris Applebaum (Peter Falk), an eccentric, celebrated stage actor of Jewish origin summons by letters his three adult children to his Manhattan apartment for the celebration of his 90th birthday and a special event they'll never forget; when the party's over, Morris plans to take his "final exit". He is healthy and not unduly depressed although he's missing his wife, but he just wants to go out the way he's lived, on his own terms and as a performance. Now it's up to his hilariously offspring – Flo (Laura San Giacomo), Ted (David Paymer), Barry (Judge Reinhold) and his daughter-in-law and her teen son and daughter – to put aside their own excessive child baggages and to convince Morris that he touched many people and changed their lives. But Morris escapes from his apartment by hiring a taxi cab, and assisted by the NYC geriatric psychiatrists Dr. Sheldon Henning (Jeffrey D. Sams) the adventure begins...

Production

The script was written by Richard Marcus and bases on the 1976 play by Allen Swift. Checking Out was filmed at locations in New York City, and premierred at the Phoenix Film Festival on 10 April 2005.

Reviews

The film received generally average reviews upon its release. Based on 7 professional reviews, Checking Out gained a "rotten" seal on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, with an approval rating of 43%. 40% of the site's 5 notable, selected critics gave the film positive reviews. Likewise, Metacritic assigned the film a score of 44%.

Awards

In 2005, Jeff Hare received the award for Best Director and Laura San Giacomo received Best Actress at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. At the Phoenix Film Festival the film won the Copper Wing Award for Best Picture, and at WorldFest Houston it won the Platinum Award.