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REVIEW: Instant Family makes for a happy household of breezy poignancy

Frank Ochieng
Contributor
REVIEW: Instant Family makes for a happy household of breezy poignancy

Cutesy comedies about the perils of parenthood can sometimes grind on the nerves if heavy-handed in its usual treacly presentation. Still, it is the holiday season and there is bound to be that friendly-family fare with an edge looking to showcase the rollicking revelations of put-upon parents and their uncontrollable charges. In co-writer/director Sean Anders's uneven but good-natured family dramedy Instant Family, we are treated to a seriocomical observation about the rigors of parenting...specifically through the foster care system. Although cheeky in its overtones, Anders instills some seriousness about the ordeals of the unconventional family unit as both first-time parents and the foster kids come to grips with their new arrangement under one roof. The comedy and drama is rather sketchy at times with its flimsy depth but Instant Family is well-intentioned in its breezy skin.  

Anders, known for the Daddy's Home movies starring Instant star Mark Wahlberg, is obviously no stranger to delivering off-kilter familial ditties. In fact, Anders can relate to the shenanigans showcased in Instant Family (his own real-life family's experiences with fostering/adoption hits close to home). There is a genuine sincerity about how Anders approaches the sometimes witty, sometimes reflective material that brings the domesticated complications to the forefront. While basking in the sentimental nuttiness Instant Family finds its stride despite the occasional sitcom-ish amusement. 

Married couple and house-flippers Pete and Ellie Wagner (Wahlberg and Rose Byrne) are not hurting financially and seem very successful in their trade. However, they are childless. The thirty-something marrieds somehow feel rather empty in terms of fulfillment in the realm of parenting. Because the Wagners are getting older and have solid financial backing they become rather curious about the prospect of taking in a foster kid. Why not? After, it seems like a noble challenge for the couple that has everything materialistically. Thus, Pete and Ellie find themselves engaged in browsing for a kid to adopt as they take their foster parent expectations pursuit seriously. And so the eight-week foster parenting training starts as the Wagners tediously take instruction from two mismatched counselors  (played by Tig Notaro and Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer) with different philosophies

Understandably, the Wagners have their doubts about wanting to be viable foster parents so naturally the uncertaintly factor is evident. Thankfully, they meet the overly spunky 15-year old Lizzie (Isabela Moner).  Lizzie is definitely a rebel but the Wagners are intrigued by her high-spiritedness. So Pete and Ellie take a leap of faith and decide to take the carefree Lizzie into their home. But there is a catch...Lizzie comes with a package in younger siblings Lita and Juan. Since the trio are together and it would be a crying shame to split them up the Wagners bite the bullet and welcome the adorable threesome into their accommodating household.

Predictably, the new assembled family unit descend into madness after a fairly good start. Lizzie does the rambunctious teen routine as the smaller children contribute to the goofy mayhem. Poor Pete and Ellie are flustered and did not imagine the kids being such a handful in a short period of time. Nevertheless, the housing chaos takes its toll for the family of five. Still, this is a learning experience for the Wagners and the kiddies and beneath all the zany static involved the audience understands the sacrifice and love that the overwhelmed foster parents maintain for their problematic adopted offspring.

Overall, Instant Family hits the chuckling spot with its off-the-cuff jocularity and whispery melodrama. This family farce may not quite dig into the emotional root of the flawed foster care system in great detail but Anders is just concerned in conveying the spoon-fed difficulties and delightfulness in bubbly doses. Both Wahlberg and Byne are an effective tag-team fit as the well-meaning yuppies joined at the hip in kid-oriented craziness. The child performers are convincingly engaging particularly Moner as the exasperating Isabel going through her feisty adlescent motions. The bickering Notaro and Spenser provide the handy comic relief but also serve as the steady blueprint for the Wagners' foster parenting inquiries. Emmy-winning vet Margo Martindale's Grandma Sandy is a genuine hoot as the oldster version of her moody adopted granddaughter Isabel. And Julie Haggerty is a riot as Ellie's ditsy mother Jan.  

Indeed, Anders's featherweight family fare Instant emphasizes the "fun" in dysfunction.  

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