Family stars Taylor Schilling as Kate Stone, a career focused account representative who is known in the workplace for her cold, unfriendly demeanor. One day, her brother Joe, played by Eric Edelstein, asks her to watch his daughter, played by Bryn Vale, while he’s away tending to a family emergency. She reluctantly agrees, and soon discovers information that Maddie has been hiding from her parents, including being bullied and wanting to become a Juggalo (a follower of the group Insane Clown Posse). As the two form a bond, Kate teaches Maddie how to stand up for herself and how to follow her dreams.
For those who have seen the film Bad Santa - a dark comedy focused on a thief who plans on robbing the mall that hired him to play Santa, while also forming a bond with a bullied child - this film will occasionally evoke the feel of the 2003 cult classic. That’s not to say that Kate Stone is anywhere near as foul of a person as Bad Santa’s Willie T. Soke was. But she’s definitely not meant to be the most likable person, and for most of the movie, she channels a lot of the energy that made her so unpleasant to be around and uses it to help someone else in need, in a somewhat over-the-top matter, which definitely draws some parallels to the former.
And while Family may tread some territory that other films have covered, what makes it so enjoyable is just how funny it is. This film relies heavily on physical humor as well as sarcastic, biting insults, and succeeds at pulling both off without resorting to pratfalls or being vulgar for just the sake of it. Some of the most enjoyable moments in this film involve a minor subplot in which Kate essentially goes to war with her brother’s neighbor Jill - played by Kate McKinnon, who deserved way more screen time - in which the two would trade vicious insults and begin getting into somewhat physical confrontations that were aggressive but never bordered on the two characters flat-out assaulting one another, allowing the scenes to still get some good laughs.
And Taylor Schilling herself is another big part of why this movie works as well it as it does. Something under-appreciated about her is the fact that she is an extremely energetic performer, and she spends a lot of this movie domineering over nearly every other actor she shares a scene with. There’s a clear enthusiasm seen in her performance as Kate is constantly seen trying to one-up everyone else around her or aggressively tell someone else what to do that watching what she does next becomes a lot of fun.
The only major issue this movie has is its screenplay. While it is very funny, and also does a great job poking fun at the Juggalo culture - while still allowing Insane Clown Posse and their actual fans get in on the fun - it does have some issues in terms of pacing. At a mere 88 minutes, this movie goes by quick. Almost too quick. On one hand, in a time where there are plenty of movies that go on for a bloated run time of well over two hours, it’s commendable to see a movie that hits all the beats it needs to hit and moves on, making for a tightly paced movie.
However, the film’s quick pace causes some of its character building to be a bit under-developed. Kate is meant to be more of a heartless monster at the start of the movie, which itself isn’t fully believable at first, as there are clear signs that will remind the audience of Piper Chapman from Orange is the New Black - she’s nearly about to fire an employee during a party, and when she’s spoken back to, she timidly backs off, while awkwardly lingering in the room as the party continues. However, even if the audience is meant to believe she’s completely cruel, she shows signs of turning over a new leaf almost instantly.
Like I mentioned earlier, she does keep a lot of the same high energy about her, as she fiercely talks back to Jill as well as anyone else who gets in her way. However, she shows very little resistance to Maddie, and warms up to her almost instantaneously, and the film could have benefited from seeing their relationship more fleshed out. And while the film does a good job of expanding upon Kate’s work career, it could have also spent just a bit more time developing her relationship with Maddie, especially as it causes some of the more emotional beats in the third act to not feel totally earned. Additionally, the film also decides to include Brian Tyree Henry as Maddie’s karate instructor in what turns out to be a totally thankless role, as most of his screen time is spent following the lead of other characters, and he’s never given a real personality of his own, outside of his relationship to Maddie.
While Family could have benefited from maybe an extra 10-15 minutes to flesh out some of its characters, there’s still plenty to enjoy about it. The movie is incredibly funny, filled with some great one-liners as well as some fresh physical gags. And while it feels a bit similar at times to other movies, it is unique in its tackling and poking fun of Juggalo culture, while never becoming outright mean to its subjects. And by far, the film’s strongest element is the excellent lead performance by Taylor Schilling, who clearly has an absolute blast with this role, and helps turn this into one of the year’s most underrated movies.
Recommendation: Watch It
Comments