You won't be disappointed!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

First, kudos to Matt K. Turner who created this wonderful group of characters. The film opens with everything pristine white, neat and orderly. It is an ideal household on the surface. This world quickly falls apart as we discover the family has drifted apart. The family cast of characters:Dad (Matthew Modine) is a has-been artist. He smokes pot and sleeps a lot. He is a 60's hippie type.Mom (Kristin Chenoweth) is the family bread winner. She is a workaholic and the least likeable of the family.Emily (Olesya Rulin) is the centerpiece to this tale. She jumps rope competitively and would love some family support.Jack (Eddie Hassell) is the older son who describes himself as a "raging homosexual." He makes short features for the Internet and wants to be called "Thor."Lucy (Joey King) is my favorite. She loves movies and fancies herself an actress. When we first meet her she has immersed herself into "Iris" the child prostitute from "Taxi."Mickey (Robbie Tucker) is the introverted young son who memorizes every spoken word. No one ever questions his memory.Grandma Gale or GG (Shirley Jones) is The father's mother and doesn't get along with his wife. She is somewhat New Age in this film.When everyone in the family missed Emily's semi-final jump rope competition she is upset and devises an over the top plan to force her parents to act like parents. I was laughing out loud over the antics and at Lucy.Joey King was fantastic as she assumed multiple film roles, none of which any parent would allow a nine year old to watch. At the end, the film then shifts to heart warming mode as do most indie comedies.Parental Guide: 1 f-bomb, no sex or nudity. Sex talk.

It's not the first movie to turn a "hostile" situation into a funny one. But it still is able to remain kind of sweet and almost innocent. Obviously a few factors come into play that other movies were not able to use (the internet) and some other stuff. There are some interesting influences coming from outside the family circle (friends, co-workers and more).The movie is funny, but has some logic issues. Then again, if you really buy into the movie (with its flaws) you will be able to enjoy a funny movie, that goes a bit dark (the young sister channeling some classic movies), but never loses the viewer with any sort of violence. For all its "dark" moments, it still might feel a bit too neat for some in the end, but it does pull the whole thing off

I found this on Netflix streaming movies. I watched it on a rainy morning just to kill time, expecting it to be a "dumb" comedy but came away somewhat amazed how good it is. Each role is acted just right and the situations are always surprising and interesting. This is a nice little gem of a movie.A movie like this thrives or dies on the lead role, and Olesya Rulin is just perfect as 16-yr-old Emily, even though the actress is in her mid-20s. Tiny at 5 feet tall, and with a youthful face and big eyes like Zooey Deschanel, her acting style fits the part.Emily is an organized person and as the movie starts she is getting ready to compete in the sport that is her passion, solo speed jump rope. She places first at the regional, in her home area in Michigan, but in spite of the post-it note reminders she left for her mom, her dad, her sister, and her two brothers, none of her family showed up to see her compete.Most 16-yr-olds would just mope, maybe take drugs, maybe tell everyone how uncaring her family is, but Emily is not your usual 16-yr-old. She decides an intervention is called for so she prepares an evening meal, forces each family member to sit at the table, then spikes the wine of her parents. When they pass out she does the only sensible thing, she ties them to chairs, making them her prisoners until they can all get a better understanding and commitment to making their family work better as a unit. Kristin Chenoweth is the hard-working, driven business woman Samantha. Matthew Modine is the hippy-dippy artist Duncan who has his studio upstairs in the home. Emily's younger sister is Joey King as Lucy, who is always dressing up as some movie character, but she is delightful. For me it was fun seeing one of my favorites from an earlier generation, Shirley Jones as the grandma, "GG ".This is a very funny comedy with novel writing, but it also has a good core of a message, that family members listening to each other and doing important things together matters.

Family Weekend is a a really fun family comedy with heart. The movie features surprisingly good acting all around, but Olesya Rulin steals the show!The movie centers on a high school speed jumper who's dysfunctional family lets her down, and her desperate attempt to write the ship before it's too late. Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Modine are fantastically convincing on the dysfunctional side, and Joey King's performance is both skin-crawlingly creep and endearing and truly unexpected from such a young star.Regarding Rulin's, her performance is spot on, and he portrays both her strong competitive side and vulnerable side flawlessly. She engages and keeps the audience's attention, and though her character is weird and quirky, we all want her to succeed. To quote Kelly Golighty "She reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady with a dash of Lucille Ball thrown in for good measure."