AN EMOTIONAL FATHER-SON TRIP WITH FALK, REISER.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

THE THING ABOUT Paul Reiser is, just when you think you can't stand another lame, vulgar, obvious scene he's written, he blindsides you with some real insight or character truth.

That doesn't exactly make ``The Thing About My Folks,'' the movie Reiser scripted and stars in, a success. But for a movie aimed at an undemanding, elderly demographic, it is a plus.

This is a cross-generational reconciliation thing, designed to please sentimentalists and those who think that Peter Falk passing gas is just the funniest thing ever. Yet as superficial as ``My Folks'' often is, it's also, in its way, deep. Peevish observations and adorable curmudgeonliness regularly give way to long, uncensored father-son therapy sessions that know no boundaries of shame or pain. They're indulgent, yes, but also genuinely uncomfortable. This makes the reassuring truths the movie inevitably concludes with almost seem earned.

Reiser is Ben Kleinman, a modern New York everyman with a couple of beautiful daughters and a respectful, communicative relationship with his wife (Elizabeth Perkins). One stormy night, Ben's father Sam (Falk) drops by with a note from his wife (Olympia Dukakis) announcing that she's gone away to be by herself.

This sends shock waves through the family; Ben has three yappy sisters, barely sketched-in, who take on the task of tracking down Mom. Ben winds up taking a road trip upstate with Sam, who is more perplexed than hurt by his wife's abandonment after 47 years. Ben thinks he knows why she left - it's that all-purpose complaint against men of Sam's vintage: emotional unavailability. For his part, Sam thunderously defends himself.

But darned if father and son don't come to an understanding or two. They also win a bar fight together and have some other excellent bonding experiences.

Reiser is Reiser, the same neurotic middlebrow he's been in ``Mad About You,'' and pretty much everything else he's ever done. Falk pulls out all of his enjoyable old tricks and imbues Sam with some real fury, but this material is hardly on the level of his Cassavetes work.

In the end, Reiser and director Raymond De Felitta craft a film that threatens ``Greek Wedding'' caricature but ultimately has more self-respect - and respect for its audience - than to stoop that low. The Falk flatulence will, and should, make many hold their noses. But there is some substance here.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com

THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS - Two and one half stars

(PG-13: language, mild violence)

Starring: Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, Olympia Dukakis, Elizabeth Perkins.

Director: Raymond De Felitta.

Running time: 1 hr. 34 min.

Playing: In wide release.

In a nutshell: When the matriarch of the family disappears, aged dad and adult son go on a road trip of mutual discovery. Half-maudlin, half-insightful, not as funny as it tries to be.

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Photo:

A son (Paul Reiser, left) goes on a journey with his newly abandoned father (Peter Falk) in ``The Thing About My Folks.''