Diane Keaton, who directed this family drama, has tried for oddball comedy with a bit of heart-tugging on the side.

The end result falls sadly between those two stools.

The central character is 12-year-old Steven Lidz (Nathan Watt), the focus of an eccentric Jewish family. His father (John Turturro) is a nutty inventor and his uncles (Michael Richards and Maury Chaykin) are also pretty dotty.

Mom (Andie MacDowell) is the sanest one in the house.

But then she falls ill... The script rather overdoses on the Jewish and the wacky bits, making the characters irritating rather than endearing.

MacDowell rises above the material to give an excellent performance, but that won't necessarily make you stick with the film.