INSTANT FAMILY – film review by Mark Glass

– By Mark Glass –

RATING: 3½ out of 5 stars

(PG-13)

First of all, ignore the trailers you may have seen on TV or the internet. There is more drama and less comedy in this mix that those selected snippets might portend. That makes this a more unique and superior slice of family entertainment. There have been scads of fluffy or madcap comedies about blended and adoptive families with love conquering all the conflicts and hassles along the way. That includes two versions of Yours, Mine and Ours several decades apart, With Six You Get Eggroll, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, at least two versions of The Parent Trap, etc.

So when Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne find pregnancy elusive for too long, they decide to become foster parents as a path to adoption. Surprise! The teenager they click with (Isabela Moner) is part of a trilogy – she comes with a younger sister and brother, each of whom adds a different type of challenge for rookie parents. The story unfolds with a mix of ups and downs, laughs and serious issues, progress and relapses, adding up to a more realistic and insightful product than most Hollywood entries, while still being entertaining and accessible for younger viewers. The script and direction mesh for a fine balance of potential plot elements and treatments. The stars and supporting players are all assets in fleshing out the entire spectrum of parenting scenarios.

One key is not depending on the kids for the laughs, as most entries into this genre have done. They certainly provide a fair share, but Wahlberg and Byrne work closely with two counselors (Tig Nogaro, Octavia Spencer), and meet regularly with a support group of other foster parents. Those interactions add humor, depth and perspective of great value for seeing the perks and perils of building a family in this manner.

The title is almost ironic, since there’s nothing “instant” about turning a house occupied by multiple persons into an actual family, with all the emotional attachments that term ideally encompasses. Time and effort are part of the process, and not every problem has a simple or one-time solution. Paraphrasing what comedic icon Tom Lehrer said long ago, “life (or in this case, family) is like a sewer; what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.”

© Mark Glass