Instant Family unites Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne for an appealing comedy-drama from Sean Anders, the filmmaker responsible for the likes of Daddy’s Home and Horrible Bosses 2. Instant Family is easily his best work, and also his most personal, drawing from his own personal experiences.
The story revolves around Pete (Wahlberg) and Ellie (Byrne), two thirty-somethings who embark on a hugely personal journey when they go through an adoption programme, taking on three children at various ages. The three children in question are fifteen-year-old Lizzy (Isabela Moner), along with her younger brother Juan (Gustavo Quiroz) and Lita (Julianna Gamiz). Peter and Ellie foster the trio when their mother is sent to prison for a number of months following addiction issues rendering her incapable of looking after them. Of course, this being a comedy co-written by Anders and John Morris (We’re The Millers, Horrible Bosses), hilarity ensues and various situations see the new parents come up against obstacle after obstacle, the wayward children running circles around them constantly.
There’s a lot of fun to be had with this heart-warming movie, Wahlberg and Byrne perfectly cast as the two well-intentioned parents, but the three younger actors playing their kids are also excellent, particularly Moner as the struggling teenager Lizzy, a clear stand-out in a break-out role.
While the jokes come thick and fast, some land better than others, and some of the incidental characters don’t work as well as they should. That said, there’s a great comedic role for Octavia Spencer as one half of the duo responsible for training new adoptive parents and, as usual, she’s a delight to watch in every frame she’s in.
As I perhaps expected, there’s a lot of truth in the story too, many of the scenes hugely relatable, and by the end, I realised that I had been laughing out loud for a large majority of it. The movie has quite a lovely heart to it and it is one of those films that will leave you with a warm glow as those final credits roll. For all its minor faults, Instant Family is sincere, brutally honest and delightful in equal measures.
Bonus Materials
The Instant Family Blu-ray, from which we review, is sprinkled with a number of bonus materials, including a very detailed commentary track from director and co-writer Sean Anders, and co-writer John Morris. The audio goes into the making of the film, and more importantly, the aspect I was more interested in, the story which inspired it. There are also a number of featurettes, mostly running at between five and ten minutes, the stand outs being Mr. and Mrs. Fix-It and The Anders Family, a short insight in the director’s story which influenced the film. There is also an entertaining gag reel, a music video featuring Isabela Moner’s track which plays over the end credits, ‘I’ll Stay,’ as well as some deleted and extended piece. Again, quite a decent array for a comedy release.
instant Family is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Download & Keep from Paramount Home Media Distribution.
