NipPierce Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Luciana Lambert I liked all of the performances. How can you not? The actors are awarded household names. That said, the story is full on bad taste, beginning to end. I was not aware there was a book. I read a review saying the book is better and did not translate well onto the screen. Well, I can see that. If one would tell me the whole story of this movie one day, and if they were a good story teller, there is a chance I would find it a little amusing. To make matters worse, the movie starts a plot that grows into a crescendo that just does not pay off at the end. Without spoiling, I will say, I felt personally depressed by how poorly constructed and little grasp of reality the story takes a turn into so it can get finalized. To say something positive, the music is fun. The catchy song the kids perform saying that they should kill their parents is hilarious.

Kapten Video Wow, weird one, this. For most part it's uninvolving and even sleep- inducing. And I wouldn't say it's put together successfully: too much empty talk and too little character development or concentrating on family dynamics.But it does raise interesting questions about how or why parents are to blame for shortfalls in their offsprings' later independent life. And the short but quite powerful finale does lift it somewhere higher than before. At least it did for me.The story is about adult brother and sister (Nicole Kidman, Jason Bateman) not enjoying their adult existence and blaming parents for not raising them the proper way. But the latter (Christopher Walken, Maryann Plunkett) are lifelong controversial performance artists who claim that true art is more important than being like everybody else.I haven't read the successful 2011's novel by Kevin Wilson the movie is based on but Bateman, also directing, seemed to be struggling with the adaptation. Movie as a whole is in terrible need for some balancing. The scenes with parents are functional, thanks to evercool Walken. But the story concentrates mostly on adult children who are so devoid of charm or anything remotely interesting that may put me almost to sleep. Think "The Royal Tenenbaums" but without the fun parts or unique voice of Wes Anderson.I am not sure what is it with Kidman and Bateman. They both can be really cool given some good material but they rarely manage to find something worthwhile. This is not the good project their fans have been looking for.

ezrapound8 Kevin Wilson's extraordinary book deserved much better. Changes to the story seemed arbitrary, such as changing the location. The book features a quirky artistic family in the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. The southern culture and the unspoken but very present Bible Belt offer an important counterpoint to the parents' commitment to art and ability to tune out or reject anything that is not in their definition of art.Bateman and Kidman were much older than the characters and while Christopher Walken was the perfect choice, the weird comedic genius he brought was not utilized in the film at all. Almost as if the director had no thought other than transposing (rather than translating or adapting) it onto celluloid -- the film offered nothing to a terrific story.

namashi_1 Based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Kevin Wilson, 'The Family Fang' by Jason Bateman, is a wonder of a film. No kidding, this is a sublime film, about family & the importance of parenthood. This One's A Near-Perfect Comedy-Drama!'The Family Fang' Synopsis: A brother and sister return to their family home in search of their world famous parents who have disappeared.'The Family Fang' is a quietly devastating film, on how important it is to be a good parent, in order to raise their children sane. In here, the unsettled protagonists (Bateman, Nicole Kidman, in Pure Oscar Peak Form), are a victim of unusual parents (Christopher Walken & Maryann Plunkett, both brilliant). They are not your regular parents, they are attention seekers, who find Art in the Reality of Life. They put up gigs (not even one of which shows any signs of entertainment, but of rather fright) & they swear to live by it, in extreme measures. Its a devastating journey to see this family so distort, torn between love, commitment & art.David Lindsay-Abaire's Adapted Screenplay is superior in all terms. 'The Family Fang' is essentially a comedy, with some dark, dramatic undertones. I was engrossed & heartbroken by the struggle of its scarred protagonist. 'The Family Fang' is about artistry gone too far & how a family is only a family, when you treat it like one. Bateman's Direction is Brilliant. He takes charge of the narrative & doesn't let you go. Take a bow, Mr.Batemen!The Fangs aren't particularly normal, but nor is their journey. Don't Miss It!