Peter D This movie features some strong actors as entertaining over the top characters in a funny yet ultimately touching story line of a high school age daughter who sees that her family has fallen apart, and is willing to do anything to bring it back together. This film has that successful foreign comedy feel about it, but with the benefit of being in English. If you can enjoy some silly in your comedies, you should like this.Olesya Rulin, previously seen in the Disney High School Musical series of films, does an excellent job portraying an obsessive yet loving over-achiever who decides to take action to save her family.

napierslogs "Family Weekend" is a dark comedy about a 16-year-old girl, Emily (Olesya Rulin), who takes her family into her own hands to turn them into a normal family. But it's not going to be easy; Samantha Smith- Dungy (Kristen Chenoweth) is a workaholic mom, Duncan Dungy (Matthew Modine) is a hippie artist dad, and her brother and sister are maladjusted kids who think they are perfectly well-adjusted.Emily takes after her mother and plots and schedules the success of her teenage life. One of which is her plan to win a jump rope competition, but her family isn't there to watch her compete because they can't think of anything beyond themselves. At the beginning, the film works because we care for Emily, we feel bad for her, and it's time to whip these idiots into shape.She talks her brother and sister into taking her side, and they take their parents hostage and hold them captive inside their own house until they learn to think, talk and act like real parents. It sounds juvenile but it doesn't seem so bad in execution because Emily has a plan for how to reach maturity.Surprising, or rather unsurprisingly, things don't go according to plan and Emily has made drastic changes to a drastic undertaking. I definitely could have used with a few less detours in Emily's strategy as it hurts her credentials as a sympathetic leading character, which is already on shaky ground, what with the whole kidnapping her parents idea and all.Things then get dramatic which follows Emily losing her sympathy, but the comedy gets back on track with a happy medium between her current family and her ideal family and a resolution which is un-Hollywood but still uplifting. There's also a joke (which I will leave unspoiled as I think it's one of the better ones I have seen) that gives a resolution to her brother's dissatisfied life that is funny, original and meaningful all in one.All in all, "Family Weekend" works well as a dark comedy indie even with a few dramatic and comedic missteps because the beginning and ending are clever enough to keep it cute and entertaining.

My_Pet_Mongoose This was a pretty solid and unexpected comedy. I laughed out loud quite a bit and enjoyed the nicely drawn character interactions. The whole production was several steps above what I was expecting (for a film with not much fanfare).The cast is excellent top to bottom. Kristin Chenoweth brings her usual spark. Matthew Modine, an actor I've found to be more miss than hit over the years, brings a self-absorbed charm to his part. But it's Olesya Rulin who fully inhabits her character that really propels the movie forward and serves as the heart, soul and brain of the movie. I fell in love with the character as soon as she compiled and presented a neat three-binder of The Plan.The other characters in the family are a bit too obvious in their stereotypes but the actors manage to elevate the material enough to avoid broad caricatures. The story beats are familiar and expected, but I was charmed enough by the production to not really mind.The movie does suffer from an odd identity crisis, though. It's rated R--a soft R with slight profanity and sexual discussion (such as anal sex) but no gore, sustained raunchiness or similar content. It's a wonder to think that this rather innocuous movie has the same rating as the Saw or Hangover films. I'm not sure if they were going for a PG-13, missed the mark, and didn't have enough cash to re-cut it or if this was planned as an R movie.The movie probably would have done better with the larger potential audience of a PG-13 rating, especially given the 16-year old protagonist and the family-based storyline.Recommended for those who like quirky family comedies with a slight edge to them (Little Miss Sunshine-ish) and for competitive jump-rope enthusiasts (which I did not know was a thing).

thepotatoHasEyes I didn't think this was going to be funny at all, i passed over it at least three times.... what a mistake, I found this movie to be very funny and entertaining, It also -to me -- points the finger at each and every character and shows their character flaws, you start out thinking each character might be the "normal"one, only to find yourself asking - is this character a little off? So , while , to me , it was at times , laugh out loud funny, i never lost the feeling that I was learning a little about people.It also carries a good family feel throughout the whole movie. The acting and production values are great , There is an emotional aspect to this one also. It's a movie about a psychotic break- which is a tragic thing --but there are some funny situations that can arise from that. So, there is a "roller-coaster" feel. Ultimately, it is about real life, which ebbs and flows. It made me laugh, I gave it a seven out of ten