Instant Family movie review

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 117 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A-

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some profanity, including 1 F-bomb.
Some foster parents leave their kids alone in a car for a long time.
Some alcohol. The mom turns to alcohol when she’s upset.
Some crude language about inappropriate/disgusting pictures on a cell phone.
Homosexuals and lesbians
Bi-racial couples
Talk of a parent in jail
Talk of drug use
It’s a comedy, but sometimes the material can be a bit dark.
Some cleavage on several girls.
Some violence with blood.
A woman slaps another woman.
Talk of pornography.
Verbal fighting.
Name calling.

IN A NUTSHELL: Inspired by the true story of writer/director Sean Anders, this heartwarming movie surprised me. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it gave me “the feels” and teary eyes by the end.

In the movie, a web site was mentioned: www.adoptuskids.org It’s a real web site that you should check out if you’ve ever thought about being a foster family. As a mom of four sons, I had often thought about being a foster mom or even adopting another child, but I was always stopped in my tracks, thinking I wasn’t a good enough mom to bring more children into my busy, crazy, loud house. The truth is that my loving home could have been a blessing to a child in need. I regret that I never did more to help children “out there” who simply needed a clean bed, a warm meal, and foster parents who tried.

THEMES:

“Things that matter are hard.” – Hispanic foster mom
Adoption
Foster families
We all want to be wanted.
“People who take foster kids are really special.” – Dad
Family preservation

THINGS I LIKED:

You get to see pictures and video clips of real foster families, especially the one that this film was based on.
I loved the visual metaphor of building a house compared to building a family.
While I’ve never been a foster mom, it seemed like the movie didn’t sugar coat the fostering process at all. It seemed to paint a very realistic and painful picture for those considering it.
Mark Wahlberg is awesome. He can do a convincing macho guy in all of his action movies as well as he can play comedy and even touching dramatic moments. I’m such a fan.
Award winning Octavia Spencer plays a surprisingly small role in this movie, although of course, she nails it.
Rose Byrne is so pretty, but finds herself in a lot of crude movie moments.
I haven’t seen comedian Tig Notaro in a long time. Her role as Karen was pretty serious with Octavia Spencer hitting all of the comedic lines.
The kids were pretty doggone cute. They were played by Isabela Moner, Gustavo Quiroz, and Julianna Gamiz.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

* At times, it feels like an infomercial to get you to be a foster parent or adopt kids. It can sometimes feel preachy and heavy-handed, but the intentions are pure. More of us really should step up to help.

I never need to hear crude language for a laugh. Come on. How about some more classy dialogue?

FUNNY LINES:
“Have you ever played fricken Candyland? It’s brutal.” – Dad/Pete (Mark Wahlberg)
“15 year old girls should never be naked.” – Dad/Pete

Writer/director Sean Anders and Mark Wahlberg worked together twice before. If this movie feels somehow familiar, it’s because the funny family movies they did together were:

Daddy’s Home