We saw this movie yesterday, mainly on the basis that our son was tickled by the trailers. I went without high expectations, expecting the basic fluff of most comedies, but that was okay. When you have a kid, you take one for the team quite often, right? So this magnificent movie was a delightful surprise, masterfully weaving the comedic and dramatic, the gamut of emotions, as a couple adopts three kids, two girls and a boy, the eldest girl 14 years old and soon to demonstrate all the angst, anger, and rebellion typical of that age set, a true nightmare child as the parents do their best to build bridges to her. The middle child, the boy, was sweet and charming but an accident waiting to happen. The youngest, a girl, by turns adorable and a hell-child of zero self-control. In and among were blended the several stories of other foster parents and the trials and tribulations of the children they'd taken in, woven with a fun send-up of "The Blind Side," a wealthy woman only wanting an athletic black son who would follow in the footsteps of Michael Oher. Many times throughout, I bellowed out laughter. Other times, I wanted to reach into the screen and slap some sense into some of this. And result: I was downright delighted with this magnificent movie.
Review of Instant Family
