Ralph Breaks the Internet [2018] spoiler review

Going in, I knew the general premise was that the Sugar Rush steering wheel was going to break and the goal for Ralph and Vanellope was to get a new one to save the game so all the characters had a home to go back to since having your game unplugged was a huge deal, based on the events of the first movie.  And how would they get a new steering wheel?  The internet. 

So I kind of figured they'd get the steering wheel with relative ease, maybe a hiccup here or there, while going on some fun adventures in the internet based on what I saw in the trailers specifically in reference to the Disney Princess scene.

I was slightly disappointed to learn that getting the steering wheel would be the goal throughout the entire movie.  On their way to accomplish their goal, while creative at times, sometimes felt contrived based on the worst parts of the internet.

So while on their way to eBay to win the auction for the steering wheel, they meet characters that represent a pop up.  They decide to use the pop up which brought them to the racing game which makes sense because, pardon my pun, as that's in Vanellope's wheel house.  We meet Gal Gadot's character Shank who gets way too many lines and way too much screen time.  It felt like the people in the game were trying to be the Fast and the Furious family, but I never got a sense of family from them.  

After failing to achieve their goal in the racing game per the direction of the pop up character, Shank tells them to go see Yes who runs Buzz Tube or something very similar to Youtube.  Yes helps Ralph make videos which get likes which gets them money.  They get enough money to buy the steering wheel and their mission is accomplished.

But the steering wheel wasn't, again sorry for the pun, driving the story, but the friendship between Ralph and Vanellope was supposed to be focus.  Vanellope was tired of the same thing day in and day out and dreamt of something bigger / more out of life, while Ralph liked things the way they were for the past six years.  Their friendship is tested, they fight, and eventually Ralph learns to deal with his insecurities and is able to let her go.  So Vanellope decides to stay in Shank's game and Ralph still gets to talk and visit his friend when he can i.e. when an upgrade is happening for the online game that Vanellope is now a part of.

So while I appreciated the overall message, I think the execution was a little lacking.  I loved the Disney Princess stuff and wish they were more involved with the story than they were.  I would have much rather had more of them and less of fake Youtube and fake Fast and the Furious plot lines.

In summary, I enjoyed the original more.  It needed more Disney Princesses.  C+

Fantastic Beasts The Grimes of Grindelwad [2018] spoiler review

Going into this movie, the only thing I knew is what I knew from the first movie and that Dumbledore and Gindelwald were supposedly romantically involved via the implications of the last Harry Potter book and tweets from Rowling herself.  So below is my take on things mixed with the questions I still have.

1)  The opening escape sequence - how did Grindelwald and Abernathy switch places?  Did they switch bodies allowing Grindelwald to get his tongue back?  I was very confused on what was going on.

2)  Then we get Newt and Leta at the Ministry.  Who were those guys in the room?  None of them introduced themselves or said their names.  Why was Leta there?  What does she do again?  Is she an auror?  Also, random guy hiding in the corner that turned out to be a follower of Gindelwald later -  who was that?  Did he ever say his name?

3)  I don't think any of Grindelwald's crew ever said their names or I missed them.  The only name I knew at this point was Abernathy, Grindelwald, Newt, Leta, and Newt's brother who's name I know was mentioned, but I need to look up.

4)  Cool, Queenie and Jacob show up.  I know those people.  But why does Queenie have Jacob charmed?  Because he didn't want to run away together?  Who's running the bakery back in America?   Also, who is Newt's assistant?  Is that Newt's house?  It feels like he was running his own private zoo outside of the suitcase, right?

5)  And back to more people I know - Tina and Credence.  Credence works at this traveling freak-show/circus and has developed feeling for Nagini and also is trying to figure out who is real family is.  Tina is following him.

6)  Oh I forget, we get young Dumbledore and we learn that he was the one that sent Newt to America.  Cool, something tying the first movie and second movie plot together.  I didn't catch what Newt was supposed to do or what Dumbledore wanted him to do in the first movie, but cool, Newt is secretly working for Dumbledore but everyone at the Ministry sees right through it so it's not a secret and he's being watched/followed?  Maybe both of them are?

7)  Anyway, back to the circus, we meet a new player.  It sounded like his name was Comma like the punctuation, but after looking it up it's Yusuf Kama.  Who is this guy now?

8)  So Newt likes Tina (duh) and he learns that she is in Paris and she also thinks that Newt is engaged because of a poor use of grammar in a publication of some sort.  So now everyone is in Paris but WAIT, we need to visit Hogwarts for some reason.

9)  Hogwarts

- Dumbledore is questioned and nothing comes of it other that we learn he can not or will not fight Grindlewald

- He gets some weird bracelets so now the Ministry knows if he casts any magic

- Leta gets a flash back so we can learn about her a little bit and we get some interaction between her and young Newt. 

(The actor playing young Newt was probably the best acting of the movie.)

And back to Paris!

10)  So Grindelwald using a skull hookah to create a 3D powerpoint?  So he wants Credence - makes sense because he wanted the Obscurus in the first movie.  Why?  We will find out in the last two minutes of the movie.

11)  So Newt is using magic powder of some sort to do some high level Batman investigative stuff to find Tina.  But isn't he on a secret mission for Dumbledore?  Yes he is.  Will we learn what that mission is?  Not until the last two minutes of the movie.

So I guess we get to follow Credence who is being followed by random guy at the Ministry while Tina is trying to find Credence while Newt is trying to find Tina and I'm trying to find out what the heck is going on.

12)  So evil Ministry guy is secretly working for Grindelwald and his purpose was to kill a random little person.  Credence attacks bad guy but is unable to hurt him.  And this guy is supposed to be able to defeat Dumbledore?  I hope Dumbledore knows the magic bubble move.  By the way, where does the bad guy go after speaking with Grindelwald?  Do we see him the rest of the movie?

13)  At some point we learn Grindelwald is holding a rally to bring together his followers.  It's a peaceful rally (and he doesn't start to kill everyone until all his followers leave but more on that in a bit).  Before the rally, we have a scene where everyone we care about meets up and we finally are given a giant dump of what has been going on this whole time.

A)  So Kama wants to kill Credence because he promised his father (via an unbreakable vow) to kill the thing/person that the guy who stole his wife loved the most.  By the way, what was the thing in Kama's eye?  Who put it there?  Why was Nicolas Flamel in this movie?  Was he even needed?  Who did he talk to in his magic book?

B)  The guy that stole Kama's father's wife was Leta's dad so originally, Kama was going to kill Leta, but actually Papa Lestrange didn't care about Leta either.  The only thing Papa Lestrange cared about was a baby, a baby that he sent to America with Leta and that little person from earlier that the bad guy killed.  So the baby wouldn't stop crying on the boat to America, so Leta swamped him with a quiet baby.  The quiet baby was actually Credence and baby Lestrange actually drowned.  So we finally learn that's what Leta saw when looking at the Boggart.  Also, was that the Titanic?

- We actually get a visual family tree in the movie.  Thanks, movie.  If you have to bust out a family tree, don't you think we need to re-evaluate your story telling technique?

14)  So now that that has all been cleared up, it's time for the climax - the Grindelwald rally.  As I mentioned above, he kills a lot of Aurors, who don't put up much of a fight at all.  Then sadly Queenie and Credence join Grindelwald and Leta fights and dies.  Everyone else makes it out safely and Newt accomplishes his mission - getting some sort of item that physically represents a blood pact that Grindelwald and Dumbledore made to never fight each other.  It's essentially the LOST game where Jacob and the MIB couldn't kill each other directly so Grindelwald needs someone that can kill Dumbledore and that person is supposed to be Credence who BIG TWIST is possibly also a Dumbledore and he has a phoenix - maybe Fawkes.

Jeez.  That's a lot of plot to cut through like a vine filled jungle.  Just like the first movie, this is going to take a couple watches to attempt to enjoy / understand / make sense of it all.

Things I liked

- Dumbledore mentioning to Newt about a phoenix coming to a Dumbledore in a time of need and then it actually happening at the end (allegedly)

- Leta saying I love you in the direction of both Newt and Theseus

- Newt and Theseus hug at the end of the movie

- Grindelwald makes a compelling argument and World World 2 does happen and it's a threat to not only the wizarding world, but humanity itself

Monty Python and the Holy Grail [1975] review

It's been years since I've seen this movie and even when I first saw it years ago, I chuckled here and there, but ultimately I didn't get it. I don't mean to ruffle feathers as I know people ADORE this movie but I still don't get it.

The classic moments still brought some intermittent laughs, but some left me scratching my head.

• "I'm not dead yet."
• The fight with the Black Knight
• The monks hitting themselves in the head
• Castle Anthrax filled with women
• The French heckling the English
• The minstrels' "Brave Sir Robin"
• The Knights that go Ni
• The holy hand grenade
• That ending

So it's kind of my understanding that Monty Python and the Flying Circus is the SNL of British sketch comedy and they decided to make some movies in the same vein that Lorne Michaels produced the movies Wayne's World, Coneheads, Superstar, Night at the Roxbury, Ladies Man, etc right? Am I on the right path?

And just like some of the SNL movies had huge cult followings at the time and people still quote and love them today, people feel the same way about the Monty Python movies I would assume. But just as I find re-watching some of those SNL movies now don't quite pack the same punch comedically as they once did, I wonder if Holy Grail is the same way or maybe it's just me as I'm not a huge fan of British comedy. I remember my dad watching "Are you being served?" and "Fawlty Towers" and not really getting it either. I thought maybe I was too young, and maybe I was and need to revisit these shows, but I do like some of the stop motion / claymation British comedy movies, I don't know, I digress.

Anyway, if you like British comedy and have NOT see Holy Grail, you'll probably love it. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother. It has a strong start, but then I was starting to fall asleep towards the end. Even the characters in the movie say, "Get on with it" and I think Arthur's favorite line was "Shut up". If the writers had shut up and got on with it a little more in the script department, maybe I would have been more entertained.

Epilogue
In 2011, an ABC prime-time special, Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, counted down the best films chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and People. Holy Grail was selected as the second best comedy after Airplane!.

I think the take away is that the special was called “The Greatest Movies of Our Time.”

Airplane! [1980] Review

It's been years since I've seen it, but damn, there were so many things that I loved that I forgot about.  It kind of feels dumb explaining it in words as it doesn't do it justice but I should note that there are a lot of visual gags as well as blink and you'll miss it things written on signs or labels.  A good number of jokes are misinterpreting a person's response answering what you thought was a generic inquiry and quickly dismissing it.  Also, a lot of jokes are repeated, but still funny, i.e. "I picked the wrong day to quit _____ ".

Parts where I laughed out loud
- When the doctor from the Mayo Clinic calls Captain Oveur at the airport, you can see jars of mayo behind him and a beating heart in a large petri dish.
- Zooming in on the doctor, after cutting back to him from the captain on the phone, with the jars out of focus, the heart is shown bouncing in and out of frame
- The guy dancing with the knife in his back in Striker's flashback
- Striker asking the guy at the bar to pinch him and the guy gives him a confused look and slowly backs away
- Joey visiting the cockpit for the first time is probably the best scene in the movie
- When the stewardess is looking for a doctor and Leslie Nielson's character is sitting there wearing a stethoscope
- Leslie Nielson aka the doctor saying he had the lasagna

Gags that kind of fell flat
- the passengers killing themselves when listening to Striker's story
- the jive guys, while entertaining, isn't super funny
- the stewardess singing with the guitar and knocking out the girl's IV
- Rex Kramer's bad driving
- the dog attacking the guest
- Oveur's wife sleeping with a horse
- Stephen Stucker's character of Johnny, who I probably found hilarious as a kid, was actually quite annoying and I didn't find anything he was doing or his side comments during the crisis funny.  When he said, "____ is getting larger" reminded me of when Family Guy stole that line to use it in their Star Wars satire.  It wasn't funny then either.

Overall, it's definitely one of the funniest movies ever created, and I appreciate that it can still make me laugh 38 years later.  I would definitely say the first 2/3 of the movie is very strong comedically while the last 1/3 kind of falls flat.  My wife not getting the jokes and rolling her eyes made the movie a little more enjoyable as well.

Side note:  I didn't realize Jonathan Banks was in the movie until I looked at the IMDb cast listing.  He even has two speaking lines, but he looks totally different.

Orange Is The New Black - Season 6 - Spoilers Review

Season 6
Episodes 1 - 4

Per the usual, the beginning of these new seasons, the writers set up more questions than answers from the cliffhanger ending of Season 5. Where do all the girls end up? Well, they're all over the place, but thankfully the focus is on the ones that were in the pool area first.

All Piper cares about is Alex, where's Alex, where's Alex, and she's already annoying by the fourth episode and no longer needed as part of this story. Alex was sent to the hospital as her arm was broken last season and they're reunited. (I hope this gets less attention than the other stories.)

The real focus is on who is getting blamed for the death of Piscatella as the guards that accidentally shot him set up the pool area to make it look like he was killed by the inmates, so they're all in Max awaiting questioning by the district attorney. They want to squash this in a week to prevent other prisons from rioting.

Suzanne and Cindy witness this happening as they weren't captured until later, but Cindy keeps her mouth shut and Suzanne is off her meds. The best part is getting to see what Suzanne sees when she's off her meds. It's a little frustrating because as the audience we want answers, but it was entertaining none the less.

Diaz is getting the brunt of the punishment as she shot the one guard at the beginning of Season 5 and I think he ended up dying, but it wasn't her fault if I remember correctly as the meth heads killed him. They have not been featured as of yet so we don't know where they are.

Red and Nicky's storylines are a bit intertwined once again as Red clearly wanted Piscatella dead for torturing her and the other girls so a lot of blame is put on her as well as Taystee for organizing the riots. It's implied that Red takes the brunt of the blame to help Nicky not get 70 more years for dealing drugs during the riot.

It's interesting to see which girls turn on each other to save their own skins. We get more background on Cindy before prison and that she actually has a son. We see a young Frieda make a deal and ending up burning some bridges in the process. She's safe, for the time being, in cell block B affectionately called Florida as that's where all the old inmates end up.

We also see Lorna, Flaca, Blanca, and Ruiz. Eventually all the girls in the pool area that were in Max are released to Gen Pop save for Red and Taystee. They're probably screwed. The DA has a white board and I think they may be getting LIFE in prison, while 4-5 other girls are getting 10 years added on to their sentence. Big Boo is seen for a hot minute as one of the blocks is suffering from a lice outbreak. Zirconia as well.

Meanwhile, in the outside world we have Pennsatucky hanging out with the one guard who is her love interest and another random heavy guard who was supposed to be dropped off at his sister's but they all end up hanging out at Hershey Park.

Aledia Diaz appears to be getting into the supplement business.

Caputo is on paid leave, but wants back in.

Figueroa is currently interim warden.

Some of the other guards like Luschek are back by the 4th episode, and they will be playing a Fantasy Football esque game with the new group of guards, but with the inmates lives instead. They get points on things like inmate fights, relapses, deaths, etc.

Haven't seen Norma, Gina, Yoga Jones, Sophia, Brook, Ramos. Don't know if they'll get a mention or be shown later this season. This show is probably worse than GOT with all the characters and which ones get the focus, which ones get the backstory that pertains to what is happening. It's very confusing and I'm a little lost, but just going on the ride one episode at a time.

Episodes 5 & 6
Mischief Mischief & State of the Uterus

Sophia finally makes an appearance and is given a few lines. The best new character is the Jamaican lady. The writers are giving her a lot of funny quips to enhance a scene.

Caputo is stuck taking a job in Missouri, but with the way things are going for Linda Ferguson (Beth Dover) and Figueroa not giving a shit, she may change her mind on shipping him away and giving him his shit show back, but just a guess/speculation on my part.

Pennsatucky turns herself in after they finally found out that Caputo had the count wrong which is good because she needs to get away from that guard who is quick to anger. I wonder if this is the last we'll see of her or if she'll get grouped with the rest of the girls and added back into the story.

Unfortunately, we get more Piper whining and Alex telling her to shut up and care less, yet again, just like last season.

We learn more about the "Daddy" character, but unfortunately it feels like we're getting only some of her story in the flash backs, and they never flesh out the whole story. The writers show what her life was like before being incarcerated, but we never see the "event" and I remember that being an issue with past seasons. The writers give you a little taste, but then don't complete the arc. I guess you just have to assume what happens next and fill in the blanks.

Red takes the plea and adds 10 years to her time while Taystee is fighting against the murder charge. To her surprise, and mine, the Black Lives matter and ACLU group have her support and plan on putting a legal team together for her. She's released into Gen Pop and things are looking up for now before we head into the back half of the season.

Episodes 7 & 8
Changing Winds & Gordons

While Changing Winds focus was on Badison, an annoying new character that thinks very highly of herself, Gordons puts the focus on Taystee and I like that they introduced a guard character this season that was friends with a person in the real world before she became an inmate.  The end of the episode as they walk their separate ways after working 3rd shift at a fast food restaurant was a small reminder of the different paths we take in life and where they can lead.

Pennsatucky aka Doggett, who I thought we wouldn't see for a while after she turned herself in, popped up right away and got herself out of Ad Seg and into Florida pulling the right strings with Linda Ferguson.

Caputo and Figueroa go on a real final date, but a connection actually sparks and Figueroa becomes sad that he's leaving.  I really like her line that Bruce Springsteen may be the boss, but he's not the boss of me.

Red spots Frieda in Cell Block B aka Florida and this drives her crazy.  It ultimately brings her on Carol's radar - the lady who runs D Block and was betrayed by Frieda 30 years ago.  They appear to form an alliance.  By the way, Carol's sister Barbara runs C Block and I think has only had one scene so far.  Badison works for Carol while Daddy works for Barb where Daddy is getting most of the screen time.  A war is starting to brew and we got a hint of it during a kickball game flashback earlier in the season.  Piper finds old kickball photos and wants Luschek to organize a game.

Speaking of Luschek, he's bringing in cell phones for Badison and is trying to rope Alex in as well.  The character is fighting because she doesn't want to be involved.  Not sure why Badison wants Alex so badly, as she's not easily manipulated, which is more reason while Alex and Piper should be written off, but I highly doubt they will be.

Speaking of being written off, it's time to end the Diaz storylines.  Dayanara continues to create more problems like a child, and Aledia continues to push her vitamin product out in the real world and is now getting involved with one of the guards.  I just don't care.  Give me a more interesting storyline.

Episodes 9-13

Things get a little more interesting with the drug trafficking in the prison as Aledia uses her boyfriend and main guard Hopper as a drug mule to sneak the drugs into the prison creating a secret compartment under her giant tubs of vitamin product that he was using.  Hopper eventually figures it out, confronts Aledia and they have a huge fight which results in their breakup.  Surprisingly, he amends things with her and voluntarily continues to bring in the drugs.  Aledia later realizes that Daya is using instead of just distributing.  In a rare moment of seeing Aledia show some humanity, it's clear that she has a dilemma.  How is she supposed to make money and get her kids out of foster care while her other daughter continues to use said drugs that are supposed to be helping her not hurting those she cares about?  Aledia can stop bringing in drugs right then and there as she has Hopper's support to do so, but she makes the decision to not stop as it's worth the cost of one daughter to save her other kids.  Really powerful stuff and even though the storyline was convoluted and a little annoying how it got to that point, the pay off was excellent.

Speaking of powerful payoff, the culmination of the entire season was the kickball game - C Block verses D Block - Carol verses Barb.  Tensions were high throughout the entire season - filled with retaliation, shifting alliances, information exchanges or lack there of and it was finally time for the big game.  Everyone was armed with a shank of some sort.  But then the big reveal - Carol and Barb weren't even going to participate.  They devised a plan when put in the Ad Seg together as the one guard was trying to get fantasy inmate points.  The plan - during the chaos of the game as guards escorted inmates back to their cells, the ladies, in their pink uniforms would waltz right into Florida and dispatch of Frieda.  As shit was about to hit the fan during the kickball game, and they were given the signal to attack, the attack never came.  They got wrapped up in the game and started having fun.  Before the game began, Ruiz had asked the one female guard who was suffering from the PTSD from the riot last season, to mix up the Blocks.  She reluctantly did and it helped prevent a situation.  Unfortunately for Carol and Barb, who were off hiding, realized something wasn't right, they ran out of patience and killed each other, Carol getting shanked in the back and Barb having her neck slit.  (The guard who put them together in the first place ended up wining fantasy inmate for earning double points due to the double murder.)

Speaking of fantasy inmate, Mendoza found Luschek's paperwork concerning the game and tried to out him and the other guards on the radio show with Flaca as Cindy was having guilt pains with the whole Taystee situation.  Mendoza didn't get a chance to out him and was put in the SHU.  Red was also put in the SHU when she got a chance to attack Frieda as Red was on the way to visitation to see her grandchildren for the first time and Frieda was on her way back from the courthouse.  Red never got to see her grandchildren as she put her hatred for Frieda above everything else.  Very powerful scene.

Speaking of court, Taystee was ultimately found guilty for the 2nd degree murder of Piscatella.  It was very well done as the jury chairperson was about to read the verdict, the audio went silent and we just saw reactions, first of Taystee just loosing it emotionally and her being cuffed and taken away.  I thought she was dreaming at first because I was surprised there wasn't a sentencing hearing, but I guess that'll happen at another date.  The crowd freaks out which Taystee's one childhood friend/guard in attendance as well as Caputo.  Caputa gets drunk and shows up at an MCC event where Figueroa takes care of him.

Lastly, in a surprising turn of events, 25 inmates were getting an early release.  The new character Badison was trying to get Chapman more time by planting drugs on her.  Chapman turns the drugs over to Hopper and promises to keep an eye out for any illegal activity.  Unbeknownst to her, Hopper is running that activity, and he manipulates a new inmate rating system to put her on top of the list.  Surprisingly she actually gets out.  Her and Alex have there prison wedding and they get their happy ending for now even though the tension of the kickball game loomed.  Sophia Burset also gets out, but earlier in the season when Caputo came to her to ask for her help to sue MCC for her wrongful treatment, she takes a payout so I believe her story is done.

The third person to get released is Blanca.  She gets her period that day so her attempt to get pregnant didn't work, but she's able to contact Diablo and tell him the news that they get to try for real.  In probably the sadest twist of the season, as she's processed and released, she's taken into custody by ICE.  She begins to cry and the audience is shown Diablo at the main entrance with a boquet of flowers, looking for Blanca as everyone else is being released.  I didn't care about Piper and her brother's reunion or Sophia and her wife's reunion at all.  It was overshadowed by what happened to Blanca.  I did like Piper's brother's line of "Let's get out of here before they chance their mind."  Before going to the car, Piper was able to look at the kickball game through the fence and saw them all having fun before the episode ended.

Honorable mention:  Sophia had a moment with Frieda when quoting a famous author about being free and seeing the sky.  Frieda made a point that she can't see the sky because they're not free.  Frieda when gets a chance to go outside during the kickball game to actually see the sky, but because of the attempt on her life earlier in the season by one of Carol's people, she chose to stay inside, unbeknownst to her that she could actually go outside as no harm would come to her.  So in the end, Sophia was right that freedom is a state of mind as in Frieda's own mind she could not go outside because the threat of death due to the sins of her past.  I appreciated the message that the show was attempting to get across in this instance.

***

This season feels on par with the others.  It's not super clear where things are going at first, but eventually everything comes to light.  Sometimes that journey is hard and annoying; sometimes that journey is easy, fun, and engaging.  You care about certain people along the way and not so much about others.  The writers don't disappoint in surprises and twists.  I know the show has been officially renewed for at least one more season and I will definitely be tuning in to see where the writers and actors take us.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout [2018] Non-Spoiler Review

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (aka M:I-6) was actually quite enjoyable. I found myself holding my breath at certain parts, and I loved the audience getting into it and cheering at the good parts. It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98%, and it had a stellar box office weekend. There were a lot of clever call backs to previous installments, so if you're very familiar with the series or you watched a recap video of all five movies (Screen Junkies has a good one) then you'll definitely find something to enjoy about this film. I would recommend being very familiar with Rogue Nation most of all as Fallout feels like a direct sequel that was set up with the events of the previous movie - specifically the Syndicate organization, its leader, and other characters that survived the movie.

Blockers [2018] Non-Spoiler Review

I didn't expect this movie to be good.  I was mostly right, but I will admit that I did find myself laughing at certain parts.  John Cena is great, his male co-star Ike Barinholtz gets a few good lines, and Leslie Mann is a mess.  Speaking of messes, so is the plot.  I'll do my best to avoid spoilers, but the general plot is that these three parents attempt to stop their respective daughters from fulfilling their prom night sex pact.  It's a similar premise to 1999's "American Pie", except the focus is primarily on the parents.  But then the movie tries to focus on the girls and make us care about what they're going through personally, but by the time the movie gets going, it forgot to establish the characters and make us care about them at the beginning of the movie.  You get sprinkles of information here and there as you go, but I never found myself caring about either set of characters.  The parents don't even like each other, so how is the audience supposed to like them or root for them?

There is some heart at parts especially towards the end of the film.  Sadly, when a certain parent's motivation is revealed, during that heartfelt moment, it falls on deaf ears and the scene is played for a comedic response.  It appears to be a common thing as many have griped about this same thing happening in recent Marvel movies.

I do not recommend this movie as it will be forgotten as quickly as other comedy related movies over the past few years.  If you do decide to give it a shot and go in with low expectations, you may be pleasantly surprised, but the movie couldn't really keep my attention.

Honorable mention:  Gideon Adlon, daughter of Pamela Adlon, gave the most believable performance