Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town for work. Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behavior collides with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.
Back in middle school after summer vacation, Greg Heffley and his older brother Rodrick must deal with their parents' misguided attempts to have them bond.
Director:
David Bowers
Stars:
Zachary Gordon,
Devon Bostick,
Robert Capron
A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears.
The life of a businessman begins to change after he inherits six penguins, and as he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional side starts to unravel.
Alexander's day begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by more calamities. However, he finds little sympathy from his family and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him, his mom, dad, brother and sister - who all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Director:
Miguel Arteta
Stars:
Steve Carell,
Jennifer Garner,
Ed Oxenbould
Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt return as heads of the Baker family who, while on vacation, find themselves in competition with a rival family of eight children, headed by Eugene Levy.
Bob Munro and his dysfunctional family rent an RV for a road trip to the Colorado Rockies, where they ultimately have to contend with a bizarre community of campers.
Director:
Barry Sonnenfeld
Stars:
Robin Williams,
Cheryl Hines,
Kristin Chenoweth
Old school grandfather Artie (Billy Crystal), who is accustomed to calling the shots, meets his match when he and his eager-to-please wife Diane (Bette Midler) agree to babysit their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents (Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott) go away for work. But when 21st century problems collide with Artie and Dianes old school methods of tough rules, lots of love and old-fashioned games, its learning to bend and not holding your ground that binds a family together Written by
Twentieth Century Fox
Ralph Branca:
Artie shares the broadcast call of The Shot Heard Round The World with Turner to "connect" with him. At Harper's audition, Turner delivers the broadcasters call of the famous Ralph Branca pitch and Bobby Thomson's home run. The table of judges shows one old judge with a big smile. This judge is played by Ralph Branca, who threw the legendary pitch to Bobby Thomson. See more »
Goofs
When Artie is doing play by play for the Braves vs Giants game, he mentions Hudson as the starter for the Braves. When the game is shown on TV it is clearly Derek Lowe who is the pitcher for the Braves. See more »
Quotes
Artie Decker:
Eggless egg salad, how am I gonna know it when I see it?
See more »
Crazy Credits
There is one final scene, after the end of the credits. See more »
Parental Guidance is a pretty decent family comedy about bridging the generation gap, and the process of re-building relationships that have been neglected for a very long time.
It is obvious to me that neither Billy Crystal or Bette Midler get too many good movie roles nowadays, and I think you can clearly see their joy at being back in the limelight in starring roles. They deliver strong performances and have great timing, and it is a pity that the source material is so weak to begin with. The basic plot is okay with me, but some of the comedy is far-fetched and grandchild Barker's bizarre behavior is used as an excuse for comedy too many times.
I liked a couple of scenes, which deal with the pressure of constantly keeping up with the technological advances of this day and age, with Artie losing his job because he doesn't tweet or know what an app is. This is a very relevant issue and unfortunately it is lightly dealt with.
All in all, the plot is thoroughly predictable and the points the movie wishes to make are obvious to all without any hint of subtlety, but the strong acting performances saves it from being a train wreck.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Parental Guidance is a pretty decent family comedy about bridging the generation gap, and the process of re-building relationships that have been neglected for a very long time.
It is obvious to me that neither Billy Crystal or Bette Midler get too many good movie roles nowadays, and I think you can clearly see their joy at being back in the limelight in starring roles. They deliver strong performances and have great timing, and it is a pity that the source material is so weak to begin with. The basic plot is okay with me, but some of the comedy is far-fetched and grandchild Barker's bizarre behavior is used as an excuse for comedy too many times.
I liked a couple of scenes, which deal with the pressure of constantly keeping up with the technological advances of this day and age, with Artie losing his job because he doesn't tweet or know what an app is. This is a very relevant issue and unfortunately it is lightly dealt with.
All in all, the plot is thoroughly predictable and the points the movie wishes to make are obvious to all without any hint of subtlety, but the strong acting performances saves it from being a train wreck.