Instant Family promises
to be a cool movie, with enough heartwarming drama to keep you entertained—and
maybe even make you cry.
The movie delivers on those promises, and I enjoyed practically every moment of
it. It’s a feel-good film about how adopting a child (or children) can turn
into a nightmare. But this nightmare isn’t just played for laughs—it’s a raw,
emotional journey. The couple who take on the role of parents regret their
decision at first and try everything to change things. Soon, they start arguing
with each other, and before long, they’re making things worse when they’re
trying to make them better. But in the end, it all works out.
The plot follows
Pete and Ellie Wagner, a married couple who are happy together without kids.
They haven’t decided whether they want children yet, but they’ve agreed to
think about it much later in life.
Their family teases them about it, and they can handle it—until Ellie goes
online and reads about adoption. She gets hooked on the heartwarming stories
and pictures, and she and Pete attend an adoption seminar. There, they’re won
over by a touching story from a family who adopted a daughter.
They decide to
go for it—and they go big, adopting three siblings. It turns into hell for
them. They have to learn how to care for children who’ve been raised in
unconventional ways. One of the kids is a teenager who just wants to be left
alone. She’s been the one taking care of her younger brother and sister since
their mom is a drug addict and hasn’t been any help.
Mark Wahlberg
and Rose Byrne play Pete and Ellie Wagner, the parents who thought adoption
would be easy. Their story is the heart of the movie, and their acting is out
of this world. With a plot that could easily fall flat with subpar
performances, this movie is perfectly cast from top to bottom.
For me, Sean
Anders—the director, producer, and co-writer of the movie—has done something I
appreciate as much as his 2013
film We’re the Millers.
Here, he takes the plot away from the conventional, overly positive portrayal
of adoption (like in Despicable
Me) and delivers a dose of reality.
The movies he made between We’re the
Millers and this
one—like Horrible
Bosses 2 and Dumb
and Dumber To—weren’t great. Even the Daddy’s Home series
didn’t do much for me after We’re the
Millers. But Instant Family is much better, and I tip my hat
to him for it.
This is a good
movie to watch anytime. You’re guaranteed to feel good afterward.
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