Robert DeNiro as the dad of a mafia family? Living next door? In a village in Normandy? This could be the strangest family to walk the streets of this French town. The now-playing De Niro comedy The Family made us think of 10 families from the movies we’d love—and hate—to have as neighbors.
We’re given each clan a handy Good Neighbor rating: a 1-to-10 ranking, in which a ’10’ means you’d trust them with your kids — and a ‘1’ has you packing up your bags and leaving the country.
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The Parrs
The Incredibles (2004)
After lawsuits sent the super-powered Parrs into hiding as a normal suburban family, but it has hardly suppressed their desire to do fight evil. You feel safer just getting near them.
Neighbor rating: [ 10 ] Who wouldn’t want a family of good-hearted superheroes living right next door?
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The Joads
The Grapes of Wrath (1945)
After losing their Oklahoma farm, they trek west in search of prosperity in California. Tragedy follows. But all the strife has made them a stronger family.
Neighbor rating: [ 9 ] Sure, there’s the scare of too misfortune following this clan, but this family is the very definition of “decent” and “hardworking.”
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Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Sure there’s drama and tension, But also plenty of love interests with their boatload of lovely daughters.
Neighbor rating: [ 8 ] Not only do they throw dinner parties, but imagine being a young man living next door.
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The Von Trapps
The Sound of Music (1965)
Seven noisy children living next door might seem a bit too much. Still, you gotta give it up for any family willing to stand up to the Nazi regime.
Neighbor Rating: [ 7 ] It all depends on how often they break into song.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIjobdArtiA%5D.
The Griswolds
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
For a seemingly normal suburban family, they’ve seen more than there share of vehicle mishaps, desert strandings, and untimely deaths of unloved relatives.
Neighbor rating: [ 6 ] But, then again, a family that robs a hotel and demands amusement-park fun at gunpoint (okay, BB-gun-styled gunpoint) surely has stories to tell.
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The Byrnes
Meet the Parents (2000)
The patriarch is a former CIA operative who, despite his prickly exterior, is a decent enough fella— just don’t mention his son-in-law.
Neighbor rating: [ 5 ] And avoid doing weird things in front of large stuffed animals.
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The Buckmans
Parenthood (1989)
Dysfunction spills from one immediate family right through the entire extended family, from wives leaving husbands to unwanted pregnancies and kids with emotional problems and addictions.
Neighbor rating: [ 4 ] While not dangerous, quite unstable.
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The Tennenbaums
The Royal Tennenbaums (2001)
An entirely new level of dysfunction: Nervous breakdowns and neurotic behavior are part of the fabric of this strange family.
Neighbor rating: [ 3 ] The instability— coupled with an obvious lack of cash and disregard for sanity — spell trouble.
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The Godfather series (1972)
Running an organized crime operation can take a toll on family relationships, not to mention drawing some rough characters to the house.
Neighbor rating: [ 2 ] The only way to get on the good side of your neighbor is a bad deal for you.
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The Sawyers
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
There’s nothing family-friendly about this crew of cannibalistic killers–this is one clan you never want to borrow things from.
Neighbor rating: [ 1 ] One word: Chainsaws.