Family Weekend

it's been a long time since I've watched a comedy with a message, i wouldn't call this a comedy though it's filled with crazy funny moments because there were also dramatic moments which were very touching and brought me closer to the characters as they were not characters that i laugh at but people with stories and lives worthy of exploring, the film is full of lessons about family, love, what's important in life, and how to be true to yourself. the performances were excellent especially of the main character our queen of weirdness olesya rulin who was completely capable of fixating our eyes on her and waiting anxiously for what she's going to do next but there was also a gem shining all over the movie the personification of talent and awesomeness joey king an amazing brilliant actress who will blow your minds and make you fall in love with every crazy thing she does. the movie left me with a big smile on my face

"Family Weekend" is a dark comedy about a 16-year-old girl, Emily (Olesya Rulin), who takes her family into her own hands to turn them into a normal family. But it's not going to be easy; Samantha Smith- Dungy (Kristen Chenoweth) is a workaholic mom, Duncan Dungy (Matthew Modine) is a hippie artist dad, and her brother and sister are maladjusted kids who think they are perfectly well-adjusted.

Emily takes after her mother and plots and schedules the success of her teenage life. One of which is her plan to win a jump rope competition, but her family isn't there to watch her compete because they can't think of anything beyond themselves. At the beginning, the film works because we care for Emily, we feel bad for her, and it's time to whip these idiots into shape.

She talks her brother and sister into taking her side, and they take their parents hostage and hold them captive inside their own house until they learn to think, talk and act like real parents. It sounds juvenile but it doesn't seem so bad in execution because Emily has a plan for how to reach maturity.

Surprising, or rather unsurprisingly, things don't go according to plan and Emily has made drastic changes to a drastic undertaking. I definitely could have used with a few less detours in Emily's strategy as it hurts her credentials as a sympathetic leading character, which is already on shaky ground, what with the whole kidnapping her parents idea and all.

Things then get dramatic which follows Emily losing her sympathy, but the comedy gets back on track with a happy medium between her current family and her ideal family and a resolution which is un-Hollywood but still uplifting. There's also a joke (which I will leave unspoiled as I think it's one of the better ones I have seen) that gives a resolution to her brother's dissatisfied life that is funny, original and meaningful all in one.

All in all, "Family Weekend" works well as a dark comedy indie even with a few dramatic and comedic missteps because the beginning and ending are clever enough to keep it cute and entertaining.

This was a pretty solid and unexpected comedy. I laughed out loud quite a bit and enjoyed the nicely drawn character interactions. The whole production was several steps above what I was expecting (for a film with not much fanfare).

The cast is excellent top to bottom. Kristin Chenoweth brings her usual spark. Matthew Modine, an actor I've found to be more miss than hit over the years, brings a self-absorbed charm to his part. But it's Olesya Rulin who fully inhabits her character that really propels the movie forward and serves as the heart, soul and brain of the movie. I fell in love with the character as soon as she compiled and presented a neat three-binder of The Plan.

The other characters in the family are a bit too obvious in their stereotypes but the actors manage to elevate the material enough to avoid broad caricatures. The story beats are familiar and expected, but I was charmed enough by the production to not really mind.

The movie does suffer from an odd identity crisis, though. It's rated R--a soft R with slight profanity and sexual discussion (such as anal sex) but no gore, sustained raunchiness or similar content. It's a wonder to think that this rather innocuous movie has the same rating as the Saw or Hangover films. I'm not sure if they were going for a PG-13, missed the mark, and didn't have enough cash to re-cut it or if this was planned as an R movie.

The movie probably would have done better with the larger potential audience of a PG-13 rating, especially given the 16-year old protagonist and the family-based storyline.

Recommended for those who like quirky family comedies with a slight edge to them (Little Miss Sunshine-ish) and for competitive jump-rope enthusiasts (which I did not know was a thing).

First thing, it was not your a typical film. Though it lacked the proper story structure. The concept seems silly. Like only for cinematically happenable. Since it is not about so serious, they had to cover all scenes, events within its classification, which were not bad actually. But the thing is, it is an R film with the majority of the cast was children. In reality, most of them were in their 20s, but the story wise, they are teens.

A teenager decides to take hostage of her parents to teach them some lesson for not attending her sporting competition. Her siblings join, and a couple of outsiders too. It was not a well planned event of the weekend, so some unexpected turn takes. But how it all ends, the consequence of such undertaking, all told is the final quarters.

A unique and an entertaining film. Despite lots of fun, there are some serious side too. Like awareness about the family unity. Being there for one another in all circumstances. Some viewers might get emotional too. In one of the scenes with a knife in the mouth, I scared that something bad could happen. Olesya Rulin was good. I hope she does more films in the lead. The film was four years old, so Joey was younger than her recent films I've seen. She's one of the next big star. Watch it if you are bored of regular comedies, yet still it is just an above average.

6.5/10

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