Family Weekend Review
RYAN: I was so excited to see this movie because Kristin Chenoweth is one of my favorite stars. Her talent is unparalleled but let me say upfront there’s no singing in this one. She just works her glorious comedic chops.
CAROLINE: Oh that’s nice for you. Who else in in this?
RYAN: She plays Matthew Modine’s wife, whose mom is portrayed by Shirley Jones, which is cool since both Shirley and Kristin have played Marion the Librarian in screen versions of The Music Man. (Musical Geek) And Joey King plays the youngest daughter.
CAROLINE: Why does she sound familiar?
RYAN: She’s the voice of the lovable, scene-stealing character China Girl in Oz the Great and Powerful.
CAROLINE: That’s right. How was she?
RYAN: She’s really fantastic. It’s a clever role for a girl her age – she impersonates Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.
CAROLINE: So what’s this about? Is it just a comedy about a family going on vacay for the weekend?
RYAN: Hardly. It’s a dark comedy, sort of. The oldest daughter, played by Olesya Rulin (High School Musical trilogy) ties up her folks, putting them under house arrest in order to get their attention and begs for things to be they way they used to be – when her parents paid attention to her.
CAROLINE: Okay. That sounds like the set up for a dark comedy. Is it violent?
RYAN: Not at all. It’s actually very sweet. I’m racking my brain, trying to figure out why it got an R rating. It felt PG, or at least PG-13, to me.
CAROLINE: That’s bananas. Is there swearing and nudity?
RYAN: Not that I remember.
CAROLINE: Were you sleeping?
RYAN: [laughs’ No. I laughed out loud a few times at Kristin. She has some brilliant moments. And the whole cast is good but there’s something very very off about the film.
CAROLINE: What’s off?
RYAN: The editing. It’s awkward and stilted and ruins the pace of the film; makes it feel very B-movie.
CAROLINE: That’s too bad.
RYAN: This, in theory, could have been as good as The Ref, which has a similar theme about family working out issues, when forced to communicate and work together. But it looks and feels very amateur. Still, I enjoyed the cast and thought it was sweet; so while I don’t insist you check it out in theaters this weekend, it’s would make a decent rental. And beginning April 23, you can get it on iTunes.
