Le Choc des générations

This movie is very sweet and cute. There are parts that are a little ridiculous, but then, so is life. I'm a movie buff from film noir to recent masterpieces, but sometimes you just need to watch something light and wholesome and you've found it here. It's a funny comment on new parenting styles and how grandparents struggle to cope and assimilate. Overall just a delightful way to spend a few hours. And as usual Midler and Tomei perfect!

Parental Guidance is a pretty decent family comedy about bridging the generation gap, and the process of re-building relationships that have been neglected for a very long time.

It is obvious to me that neither Billy Crystal or Bette Midler get too many good movie roles nowadays, and I think you can clearly see their joy at being back in the limelight in starring roles. They deliver strong performances and have great timing, and it is a pity that the source material is so weak to begin with. The basic plot is okay with me, but some of the comedy is far-fetched and grandchild Barker's bizarre behavior is used as an excuse for comedy too many times.

I liked a couple of scenes, which deal with the pressure of constantly keeping up with the technological advances of this day and age, with Artie losing his job because he doesn't tweet or know what an app is. This is a very relevant issue and unfortunately it is lightly dealt with.

All in all, the plot is thoroughly predictable and the points the movie wishes to make are obvious to all without any hint of subtlety, but the strong acting performances saves it from being a train wreck.

When I read the reviews by the "experts" online I didn't want to see this movie. However, my three granddaughters 16, 13 and 10 insisted they wanted to see it on the recommendation from some friends. I am happy they did. It was much better than the professional reviews led me to believe. I would recommend that any parent or grandparent, as in my case, take take their kids to see this movie.

I will say this about the expert reviews, they helped give us excellent seats. Sometimes I wonder if they have lost touch with what movie goers want to see. They have gotten to wrapped up in the technique of the art to be able to recognize a good movie. Maybe the courses on movie making should modify their guidelines to include what the general public considers a good movie.

Very cute movie, worth to watch. Billy was very funny

I was at an advance screening of this movie. I didn't keep any hopes as I thought it would be another heavily clichéd unfunny movie. I'm glad that I was proved wrong. The movie is really funny and light-hearted. What I liked is that this film did not have any poorly written lines or jokes.

Everyone played their part well. Especially the kids (although their movie names could have been better) So, Artie (Billy Crystal) is a baseball commentator who's the father of Alice (Marisa Tomei). Artie and his wife Diane (Bette Middler) are unwillingly invited to watch over their grand-kids for a week. Based on previous experience, Alice is concerned over how they would handle her kids (who are overly disciplined) What follows is a week long fun ride with unexpected situations arising due to Artie who is put at blame. The youngest is especially a challenge. There are no plot twists here so as expected everything turns out well in the end.

Don't expect stellar performances, but I'm sure you'll love the kids! I don't think this would garner any Oscars but it's sometimes these feel-good movies (genuinely funny) that make your day. Definitely a must-watch for the holidays with all your family members!