*Spoiler Section After Ads
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Margo Martindale (I love her), Isabela Moner, Tig Notaro, Olivia Spencer (Love her too), and many more
4/5 Surprisingly Touching Family Story
Summary:
A husband and wife consider adopting through the foster system because they want to shake up the monotony of their lives. They take an 8-week course and go to a fair where they can meet and greet some of the kids in the foster system. They talk themselves into and out of the situation several times, but finally, doubts from their family pushes them to take the leap. They’re interested in a teenager who just happens to come with two younger siblings.
Additional Comments:
- I’m not a huge Mark Wahlberg fan because a lot of them are truly ridiculous, but this one turned out fine.
- The trailer made the movie seem like it would be funnier than it was.
- Like anything truly to do with family, this movie took turns being charming, frustrating, amusing, and heartwarming.
- It’s not an easy road to walk. Kids from troubled homes have all the normal kid problems plus a few dozen more unique to those in the system.
- Characters: I don’t remember much about the kids’ names, except that the teenager went by Lizzy. Can’t even remember the parents’ names. I do remember Grandmother Sandy.
- Drama: The filmmakers did a nice job catching a good variety of sweet and hellish moments with the kids.
Conclusion:
Worth watching. Don’t think it’s a movie that really encourages people to go out and enter foster classes, but it’s a worthwhile tale. Would be good to watch alone, with friends, or with family.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Spoiler Section:
- Favorite Moment: When Grandmother Sandy tells them plainly that their court speech stinks, and they need to rewrite it pronto.
- Sometimes, I wonder how much of the “based on a true story” part is true. There are certain things these people say and do, like punching out the janitor or being slapped by the people they went to for help, holds truth. A lot of what they said, especially in confronting the high school kid they thought had sent lewd pictures to the teenage girl, seemed highly inappropriate in and of itself.
