The Fabelmans

Spielberg’s version of a Woody Allen movie. Lots of bickering and Jewish jokes. It’s highly autobiographical, and heartfelt for sure. It’s episodic, but while the episodes themselves are interesting, the sum of the parts out-measure the whole. While the episodes: a piano rehearsal, a camping trip, a visit from an uncle, a high-school film screening, an awkward encounter at a camera store, feel authentic and personal, it’s unclear what the underlying THEME is, other than, I suppose, Mrs. Spielberg… DOH! I mean: Mrs. Fabelman is in the wrong marriage. Michelle Williams, as always, is great, as is the rest of the cast. But if the whole point is to depict the painful divorce of Spielberg’s parents, there’s not a lot of emotional resolution. The final scene, the best in the movie, resonates more than anything else, as the young Spielberg analogue receives some sage advice from a certain Hollywood guru.