First Take: Instant Family- adding chaos isn’t an ideal option

SYNOPSIS: A couple find themselves in over their heads when they foster three children.

Usually I enjoy reviewing comedies. But lately Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to make decent ones. Don’t get me wrong, Instant Family does have some good moments, but I felt a little underwhelmed by it.

Sean Anders is the man in charge, basing the film on his own experiences- for a 1 hour 58 minute film, it could do with a few trims here and there, as it does drag along at points, Co-writing the script with John Morris, there is a little bit of well thought out humour, but considering the trailers that played on loop every 20 minutes on the video walls of a certain cinema chain, this isn’t the film that was heavily promoted over Christmas. It’s shot very well by Brett Pawlak, and the score from Michael Andrews just about does the job.

With the cast, Rose Byrne and Mark Wahlberg are pretty likable, but knowing that the film has less comedy and more drama, their talents are underutilised a little bit knowing their previous works. Supporting them is a pretty good group of talents that include Octavia Spencer, Tig Notaro, Joan Cusack and many others, but where this film excels is in the work of Isabela Moner. She’s got a lot of great films lined up over the next few years (including, mercifully, the Dora the Explorer movie), so I wouldn’t be surprised if her work in this release remains the talking point- because the rest of the film felt forgettable.

THE VERDICT

Instant Family is a film that had an incredible amount of potential. But due to it’s overly sweet and saccharine nature, the film fails to live up to expectations, especially knowing that films like Daddy’s Home exist, and so similar plots in a much better way.

RATING: 3/5