The Family Plan movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Family Plan

This goofy action comedy is now playing on Apple TV+.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 58 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: C

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is about a top government assassin who has been living incognito as a suburban dad. His past catches up to him and he has to take his unsuspecting family on the run.

The film was directed by Simon Cellan Jones. Writing credits go to David Coggeshall.

THINGS I LIKED:

I love Mark Wahlberg. He’s equally talented in drama, action, and comedy. Here in Las Vegas where he lives (and I live), he has a great reputation as being a stand-up, family man. That’s impressive to me. He and his co-star in this movie, Michelle Monaghan, also starred together in the movie Patriot’s Day back in 2016. You can see my review of that at https://moviereviewmom.com/patriots-day-honors-bostons-courage-and-compassion/
I’m wondering when Michelle Monaghan and Maggie Q are ever going to start aging. They both look amazing.
A character in the movie is named Kyle but he has a fake passport with the name Van, which is the real name of the actual actor: Van Crosby.
Adele gets a couple of shoutouts during the film. Who doesn’t love Adele? Mark Wahlberg’s character said, “She has the voice of an angel.”
I loved the Las Vegas scenes. I live in Vegas, Baby! There’s always so much to see and do here.
Keep watching during the final rolling credits for some cute images and more funny clips.
Vanilla Ice. Ha ha

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The characters felt like…characters. Nothing felt real in the story. I know, it’s supposed to be a silly comedy, but it made the film feel hollow and overly cheesy somehow.
Teenage daughters in movies are always portrayed like complete monsters. The one in this movie was extremely unlikely until Act 3.
The scenarios are completely ridiculous. The characters’ reactions to various things are unrealistic and, at times, really odd. Just check your brain out the door so you can enjoy this.
A lot of the jokes don’t land.
Ultimately, the film is extremely formulaic and cliched.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity, including 1 F-bomb
Some sexual innuendos and talk of sex
Violence with various weapons
Very high dead body count
Destruction
We see a shirtless man.
A mom chugs beer upside down
A married couple makes out in bed
People are in perilous situations
A teenage girl flips the bird
We see a teenage boy kill a bunch of animated people in video games

THEMES:

Identity
Expectations
Family
Secrets
Spontaneity in marriage

FUNNY LINES:

“It’s okay, Honey. Everyone barfs the first time.” – Dad & then the Mom
“43 people. They were all bad.” – Dan (Mark Wahlberg)
“OMG. We’re British.” – Kyle (Van Crosby)
“Who’s this? Janet Jackson?” – Dan (Mark Wahlberg)

INTERESTING LINES:

“It’s never too late to become the man you’ve always wanted to be.” – Dan (Mark Wahlberg)
“Look at you playing the family man.” – Augie (Said Taghmaoui) “I’m not playing. This is my life.” – Dan (Mark Wahlberg)