Starring: Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Billy Crystal
Director: Andy Fickman
Mediocre but sometimes fun family affair, with estranged grandparents Midler and Crystal moving in for a week to care for Tomei’s children so she can reconnect with her spouse.
Mostly focusing on how awful modern parenting is, belabouring the point to the extreme, with the kids being truly awful and screwed up little individuals, the film has little that’s original or clever, but has some solid performances from old hands who headline, though they are given very little room to shine.
With parents out of town, the grandparents are given a huge list of rules to follow that constitute the house parenting rules. The house in question is completely automated, an invention of the very beige father of the family, and seems to foreshadow mockery of old timers fear of technology and high jinks but never gets off the ground. Subplots involving Crystal being fired from a baseball commentator role and forcing auditions whilst neglecting to watch children, and a teen rebelling from her prescribed violinist career offer little additional entertainment, but give an overall sweetness to the film.
See It If: You’re looking for something safe to watch with children, though if you are Crystal or Midler fans, you’ll find better offerings elsewhere.
Wildfire Movies 