Rating: B+
Kate Stone (Taylor Schilling) is a hard-working, no nonsense self-absorbed business woman in the new comedy FAMILY. Her work is her whole existence and everything else in her life places a very distant second. When her brother reaches out to her for help watching his daughter so he can tend to his dying mother-in-law the very unprepared Kate finds her world turned upside down when she is forced to take a closer look at her own life and her relationships with others to survive the week.
This was an entertaining for me. Not only do we get to see another side of Taylor Schilling outside of her recent work on Orange Is The New Black, but she fits the role well. She can certainly handle the uptight side of Kate who really could care less about her family, friends, or anything that is not just straight work related, but when the ice queen version of herself starts to melt away and she starts caring about her 12-year-old niece Maddie she really starts blooming into a fully functional, although, far from perfect, adult. We can see through all her social anxiety that she is really putting in the extra effort to help someone who isn't herself. When Maddie is being bullied at school and just wants to do magic and hang out with her new friends Kate is the most supportive person in her life because she is used to to being an outsider herself. Maddie's confidence starts to grow and she even starts branching out a meeting new people. Things reach their breaking point when Maddie's new friends talk her into running away to a music festival called 'The Gathering' to see The Insane Clown Posse and embrace her new self as one of the Juggalos. Despite the insanity and debauchery that surrounds the Juggalo culture when push comes to shove they rally as a 'family' of sorts to help Kate locate her missing niece. Kate's transition from selfish workaholic makes a turn for a much more compassionate and caring aunt through this series of unfortunate events and Schilling handles it with ease. She can flip that switch between obnoxious to incredibility likable with ease. The rest of the cast, especially Bryn Vale as Maddie holds their own well. Maddie conveys the struggle of being a teenager unsure of where she fits well.
The movie tackles the struggles may people face growing up in a new and original way. It was entertaining to get a peek behind the curtain at a culture so vastly different from what may are used to. Even watching the movie yourself you may find yourself prejudging the Juggalos before we even get a chance to know them , but by the end of the film, you may see them in an entirely new light. At the end of the day whatever it is that you choose to call your family is what should come first and this movie really hits that point home. It is a little left of center, but so is growing up. We scored this movie with a B+.
If you get a chance take some time out and see FAMILY.
The Film Arcade will release FAMILY on April 26th at the Greenway Grand Palace 24 and Fountains 18 Stafford.