Boundaries

Vera Farmigia and Christopher Plummer are award winning actors who draw on their experience with family relationships to make a highly entertaining film. Many adult children have problems with their parents-many of whom are baby boomers-who grew up in the 1960's/1970's a free wheeling time of love, sex, rock n' roll... many of our children don't understand the mindset of our generation, in which as children baby boomers were pushed into a certain mold, even as many of us were individuals-"square pegs" if you like forced into a round hole- drilled into the baby boomer generation by our parents, teachers and employers who all had high expectations, required good manners and social graces; along with knowledge of historical events that had transpired, to make our parents, "The Greatest Generation" proud, and satisfied they had done the best by their children.

This is pleasant light entertainment, but well done. Don't be put off by the one-star crowd here. That has nothing to do with the film itself.

I'm not sure what happened with the 1 stars, but I don't think they watched the movie. If you've watched the trailer, you shouldn't be offended by the movie. It's a decent movie. Not groundbreaking, but fun. Absolutely, not less than a 7.

I'm not sure what's going on with negative reviews. I always rate the movies on IMDB but virtually never write a review. But in this case, I was compelled to say something. You may understandably object to some of the content or simply think it wasn't the type of movie you like but there is definitely something amiss with all the 1 ratings. This film was very well done.

I wasn't terribly interested in seeing this movie, but took myself anyway because I like Christopher Lloyd and Kristen Schaal. Well, I have to tell you, I was really surprised that this movie was so good! I walked out thinking, "This was really good!" Here's my opinion:

The Good: The characters were enjoyable, there was plenty of humor, and the drama wasn't too heavy. I think Vera Farmiga did a fantastic job, and as someone that's never really enjoyed her work, I certainly did, here! You can identify with her character, even though she's a little strict. You can at least see where she's coming from. She loosens up, along the way, too. Christopher Plummer is a very enjoyable screen presence, as well. His character kind of keeps you guessing with what he's thinking and going to do. Is he the nicest character in screen history? No. But you like him anyway. It made me want to seek out other movies with him. I love the dogs, too! So many different types, and they just make you smile! :)

The Bad: I found the son to be a bit annoying, frankly. He's just kind of along for the ride, acting mopey. I didn't really care what happened to him. (Though he did make me laugh at least once.) Also, Bobby Cannavale doesn't really seem to fit in here well. He always plays the same type of character, and he acts the same way in most movies. (So I guess I'm not a fan.)

Overall, though: This movie is light enough, and most of the characters are fun to watch. This type of movie always seems to get overshadowed by bigger movies, but the people that do go to this have a great time! I really enjoyed myself. I give: 8/10