If you’re looking for a funny, family-friendly film that’s heartwarming, here it is. What makes this one a little different is that it’s about the trials and tribulations of starting a family with not one, but three foster children, and one is an unruly teen.
Why does Sean Anders, the writer/director of raunchy comedies including Sex Drive, Hot Tub Time Machine and Dumb and Dumber all of a sudden make a sweet family film? It’s based on the real life adventure into parenthood of Anders and his wife, Beth. They waited to become parents deciding that maybe it’d be better to take in a child who was already a few years old. Being foster parents might help them get a head start so they could see what it’s like and, if adopted, they wouldn’t be the oldest parents as the child grows up.
The film shows prospective parents going through the process, learning about the ups and downs of foster parenting and the horrible living situations many of these kids have come from. Many don’t have a sense of belonging any where, often not knowing where they’ll be the very next night. Needless to say, it becomes a rude awakening trying to assimilate these 5 people into a loving family.
Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne are adorable and very human as Pete and Ellie, essentially playing Anders and his wife. Isabel Moner (Sicario: Day of Soldado, Dora the Explorer) plays Lizzy, the tough teen daughter who gives them a run for their money. She had been the parent taking care of her siblings and now she has competition from two new adults giving orders.
The script is realistic. It was written with John Morris who has worked with Anders on most of his films. The dialogue doesn’t gloss over the pitfalls of starting a family with kids you don’t know at all and the surprises that come up.
We asked Anders in our interview what scene the kids acted out in most during the shoot. “The potato chip scene!” The Director and former foster child, Maraide Green, who served as his consultant on set, agreed. Pete and Ellie take a stand when little Lita refuses to eat anything but potato chips. Anders says it was the most difficult scene they shot. It becomes a comedy of errors where a tug of war ensues with everything at the table flying. Lita ends up looking like a bloody mess. Actually it’s ketchup. Green laughs about being under the table during the shoot helping throw potato chips in the air to add to the mayhem. And there’s a cute kicker.
We also asked Anders why he decided to make the kids in the film older than his own. He explained that he combined experiences from other foster parents with his family’s to work into the film. One he heard about a teen daughter stuck and he decided to Lizzy to make a point.
There are awkward questions and situations. Many are silly but humorous. This couple only wanted one child, but social workers Karen (Octavia Spencer) and Sharon (Tig Notaro) talk them into keeping three siblings together. That’s when the fun really begins.
Lizzy (Isabel Moner) is the most difficult for them to deal with. She’s an adamant teen who’s been more parent than sibling to Juan (Gustavo Quiroz) and Lita (Julianna Gamiz) since their Mom has been in drug rehab. Lizzy’s got a lot of resentment boiling inside. There’s a great scene where Pete, who’s in construction, takes Lizzy to a house he’s renovating and let’s her have at it with a sledge hammer. She gets to tear the place apart alongside him which helps release some of that negative energy and they bond. We did got into demolishing walls when we renovated a house and it can be very therapeutic.
The kids are adorable, but the funniest characters in the film are the eager- to-please, competitive grandmothers. Trying too hard to love and be accepted by their new grandchildren, they go nuts. Margo Martindale as Grandma Sandy, bubbly in sequined Grandma shirts, and Julie Hagerty as Jan gets an artsy makeover by the kids, using permanent markers. It’s a look. the Grandmas get the best laughs and help keep it light.
This is a cute family film for the holidays. But it also has a message. Anders lets you know that there are a lot of kids out there who need to know someone cares and can give them a sense of belonging in a safe place, even for awhile. He and his wife hope others, after seeing this film, might consider becoming foster parents and be as happy as he and his wife are with their new family.
The film shows that ,as hard as it might be, parenting foster children and adoption can be fun and very satisfying. And without being sappy, this film is too.
Paramount Pictures 117 minutes PG-13
