ThiefHott Too much of everything

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

robb-04492 ...mainly because of the insane rigmarole one is put thru to post a "simple" review.But, back to the movie... "Parental Guidance" The movie reminded me of how much fun an idiotic and mindless movie can be. It had all the love, slapstick comedy and just good old time fun a movie can offer!Is it esoteric? Is it deep and moving? Is it a movie to be talked about for years? NO! But, this is a movie that could kinda draw tears to your eyes. It is a movie that could maybe sorta can make you smile."Parental Guidance" is that exact kind of movie you might just NEED when a smile, or a laugh, or a gee-whiz moment to remember what life means in this manic world of ours.Maybe that is putting a lot on a simple movie. But. The actors, including greats like Bette Midler and Billy Crystal, and my fave... Marisa Tormei, put forth wonderful performances that had this lowly fella smiling, laughing and just plain crying throughout.Was this Oscar material? No frelling way! But. BUT!! It WAS an amazing escape to make one (me??) escape from the blah-blah yadda-yadda that life tends to throw at us... ME??!!Give this a watch. I think you might be surprised.

William Reid Billy Crystal's movie career has been hit or miss. Alright, mostly miss. Too bad there's no three strike rule in Hollywood. (Although why Crystal never had a TV show, where his lovable cozy charm might work, I don't know.) Here his talents are wasted. It's painfully bad. Blame the writing. This movie isn't the worst I've ever sat through. I mean, it's no 'Jerry'. But it's bad. If you have a ten minute rule about watching movies then you might want to consider having a five minute rule. But frankly, this doesn't pass the smell test after one minute. They keep selling it as a family movie. Maybe the family from 'Honey Boo Boo' but for anyone else it's a stinker.

Jackson Booth-Millard I knew this film was most likely going to be very average or possibly terrible, I think I was mainly attracted by the cast, so I watched it anyway, directed by Andy Fickman (She's the Man, The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain). Basically minor-league Fresno Grizzlies sports commentator Artie Decker (Billy Crystal) is fired due to his old style commentary and lack of social media. Artie is accustomed to calling the shots, but his wife Diane (Bette Midler), who is eager-to-please, gets a call from their daughter Alice Simmons (Marisa Tomei) and, despite his insistence, agrees to babysit their grandchildren, Harper (Don't Be Afraid of the Dark's Bailee Madison), Turner (Heroes' Joshua Rush) and Barker (Kyle Harrison Breitkopf) in Atlanta. Alice and her husband Phillip 'Phil' (Tom Everett Scott) are going away for an entrepreneur exhibition, but problems arise as Artie's and Diane's collide with the alternative "helicopter parenting" of Alice and Phil's. Alice is especially panicky leaving the children behind, but eventually leaves Artie and Diane to it, who learn of the children's various problems, including Harper's high achievement syndrome, Turner's stutter and Barker's imaginary friend, but they try to make the kids their new best friends. Alice is given the assignment to redesign the website for the X Games, so eventually returns home, Artie uses this to his advantage to arrange an interview for the role of sports commentator, but Barker is with him and almost gets hurt by a skateboard ridden by Tony Hawk. Tension rises when Alice clashes with Diane who wants to allow Harper to attend a party the night before a recital, and Barker's imaginary friend, a kangaroo named Carl, is killed, so arguments occur. Eventually Alice reconciles with Artie and Diane, and Harper is allowed to withdraw from the recital, Turner takes her place and resolves his stutter reciting the 1951 baseball Shot Heard 'Round the World commentary, following this in the end Artie and Diane become a major part of their grandchildren's lives, and Artie, along with Turner, takes up a new job as commentator for a little league baseball team. Also starring Mulan's Gedde Watanabe as Mr. Cheng, House M.D.'s Jennifer Crystal Foley as Cassandra, Road Trip's Rhoda Griffis as Dr. Schveer and Steve Levy. Crystal does his wisecracking character well, Midler is somewhere between annoying and amusing being kooky, and Tomei gets her moments being the concerned and worn out parent. It is a predictable story with a strained relationship between the grandparents and their adult daughter, and lack of connection with the kids, babysitting the kids becomes chaotic, most of the laughs come from the sarcasm and banter between the kids and the grownups, it did make me laugh in the right places, so overall it's an alright comedy. Okay!

Prismark10 A smooth Bette Midler and a even more smoother Billy Crystal try to take you attention of their faces for a few moments in Parental Guidance where they play Grandparents who have to look after their grandchildren when the parents go off for a few days business holiday.Crystal is a broadcaster who has been fired for being old hat and comes up with corny one liners. Marisa Tomei is the helicopter mother who hovers over her kids to almost to the point of suffocation and at turns spoiling them. She is rather apprehensive about leaving her children with her parents and for a lot of the film refuses to join her husband who has gone on the trip before her.The kids of varying ages are spoilt brats who simply have not had much fun in their lives and have issues. One having an imaginary kangaroo, other having communication issues with the daughter about to enter puberty and not enjoying her music with the constant practise and no social life.However the film comes across as a sit com style clichéd family relationship film you have many times before. The kids get hyper by eating sugary food, getting into scrapes much to the irritation of their parents.However hen watching this movie you do actually wonder if Midler and Crystal are actually Tomei's parents as she is so uptight it seems someone else must have raised her. In that case why were they invited to look after her kids?The film gives you a few brief laughs but mostly will leave you bored because of the familiarity of the story. Maybe the screenplay needed a face-lift more than its two stars.