You Can Choose Your Family

The film isn't really that funny, it's not particularly well acted and quite Frankly, no pun intended, its a middle of the road film. However having watched a lot of these so called serious films, on subjects that tackle some of the same themes in this film. I would much rather be entertained in this manner, than force fed misery from a serious film.

All in all, the film covers some harsh concepts but in a light easy to see all sides of a perspective way. Life isn't binary people. Worth a lazy day easy watch.

Being Frank or You Can Choose Your Family, two tiles for one movie. It's not the first time I see that and I honestly don't get the point of that. Just choose one title and that's it. That said it wasn't a bad movie. First of all I love Jim Gaffigan as a stand-up comedian so I was a bit curious about his acting skills. It wasn't bad but even if this movie is supposed to be a comedy (there are some funny moments but I've seen better) his stand-up comedies are just much funnier. The cast was good, the story is entertaining with some good moments, so overall it's a movie worth watching.

I was more than a bit suspect coming into this film, having seen the trailer and having a general idea of the plot. That said, a fairly bizarre story unfolds in a unique and somewhat creative way, and so I have to give the filmmaker a bit of credit for that.

To me, it goes a bit off the rails near the end... that's not completely fair, it's amusingly off the rails almost from the start. But while I appreciated the creativity of the first 2/3 of the film, much of the last 40 minutes becomes contrived and dopey.. Too bad; there really was a fair amount of witty dialogue and uncomfortably awkward humor to carry the story, and I had hopes that this might turn into a hidden gem. But where it eventually goes was, to me, disappointing. I really wish they had written this a better ending. So we'll say "I liked it, but it wasted its truest potential and settled for slightly above average." So it gets a 6.

Comedy about a man living a double life with two families for 20 years? Movies with such serious seeming themes are not made for comedies. Walking the line if a tough act which, when accomplished, usually results in classic type black comedies. In this case Frank's writers pull it off in fun and also serious fashion. Son Philip and dad Frank are both likeable and do well acting. The remainder of the cast also does well. The writer(s) win the day crafting a dandy back story and current goings on. Frank's effort to convince his son Philip that he did the 'right' thing, embarking on a double life, given the circumstances. What else was a man to do!

The writers missed a final fun twist. They could have had wife #2 announce her first child was not Franks removing a major obstacle to sibling love.

That aside, well done!

The casting and acting were nearly perfect in this film. If you could take the first 90 prevent of it and stick a new ending on it then it probably would have been one of the best movies of the year. Unfortunately the ending falls completely flat. The viewer gets no reward for the time invested in these characters.

I can't even really recommend it to anyone because even though the vast majority of the movie is wonderful it ultimately falls short. Completely and utterly.