A cute little comedy called Family Weekend has some able talent, but the story gets out of hand with its weak direction. That said I’m sure those into sitcom TV will probably enjoy this film filled with teen angst, parental discord and a lot of jumping rope. The DVD comes with some bonus features and is presented in widescreen.
The story centers on Emily (Olesya Rulin) a high school teen who’s the best jump roper in Michigan. She’s a misfit in school due to her concentration on her ‘sport’ and at home she’s misunderstood. One day following her big win in the county jump roping contest we notice she’s the only one whose parents, Samantha (Kristin Chenoweth) and Duncan (Matthew Modine), did not attend.
Down on the lack of participation in her choice of sporting events, Emily goes home to receive excuses from her parents, sister Lucinda (Joey King) and brothers Jackson (Eddie Hassell) and Mickey (Robbie Tucker) on why they failed to attend. Upset and dissatisfied at their answers she decides to drug and tie-up her parents so she can give them a lecture with their undivided attention. When things start getting out of control Emily finds out more about life than she bargained.
The movie has some good moments with a hilarious performance by Joey King as Emily’s young sister who does a great job of portraying the likes of Jody Foster from Taxi Driver and Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange. She’s the hit of the film delivering most of the witty comments while posing for her brother’s movie on Emily’s parent napping.
Although I am not fond of the way the film was directed, it’s not Olesya Rulin’s (High School Musical 1, 2 and 3) fault as she gives her all to make her character work. In the film she has to jump rope and it’s amazing (with the help of some special CGI) to watch the young lady move her feet at breakneck speed. She has just the right sass for the part and her big gorgeous eyes tell a lot of the story.
Both Chenoweth (Zombieland) and Modine (The Dark Knight Rises) are pawns in the film, but they still give good performances in spite of the weak direction and script. Unfortunately you can see they’re present for their star quality and thus are distracting while trying to fit the demands of their producers.
Producer Adam Saunders (as Rick) and Director Benjamin Epps (as cop 2) both have roles in the film one as a goofy client of Samantha and the other a bungling cop who comes to the house on a tip that Emily has her parents held hostage. The two would have been better served if they concentrated on their jobs as members of the crew rather than spoofing a possible winner if handled right.
The DVD has some special bonus features and one I just loved.
BONUS FEATURES:
- “Featurette: Conversations with the filmmakers”- It’s more of the cast talking about their roles with side comments by Epps and Saunders.
- “Thor Smith Dungy’s Chicken Dance”- shows the web ad for his chicken moo store in sort of a rap and dance.
- “Jackson & Kat Fireside”- a deleted scene that doesn’t add much to the story.
- “Rick Dances the Camel”- Adam Saunders repeats his dance from the film when Jackson’s cell phone ring tone goes off.
- “Lucinda Gets into Character”- this hilarious little take of Joey King getting ready prior to being on set in character is worth the purchase of the DVD. She is a fine little actress and proves it here and throughout the film.
The video quality is very good considering I watched it in on DVD (with the help of my Blu-ray player). It’s presented in widescreen with the original theatrical aspect ratio so you will have to live with the letterbox effect. Actually you won’t mind the bars top and bottom because the focus is on the characters that are nicely filmed. Close-ups are extremely high quality and the interiors are well lit giving a good presentation of the colors and mood of the film.
The sound quality using the 5.1 Dolby Digital or the 2.0 Dolby Digital is very good. The entire dialog is crisp and clear with no distortion. Even the jump roping scenes are great with the sound of the rope hitting the gymnasium floor showing the speed at which the contestants have to move.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A fair story with some very good acting from the cast. [rating=3]
Specifications and additional film information:
- Cast: Kristin Chenoweth, Olesya Rulin, Matthew Modine, Joey King, Eddie Hassell, Robbie Tucker and Chloe Bridges
- Directed by: Benjamin Epps
- MPAA Rating: R for some sexual content and drug use
- Genre: Comedy
- Running Time: 1 hr 46 min
- Street Date: April 23, 2013
- Original Theatrical Release: March 29, 2013
- Language: English
- Format: DVD
- Audio: 2.0 or 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Video: Widescreen Presentation with Letterbox aspect ratio
- Subtitles: none
- Number of Discs: 1 Disc
- Distributed by: Arch Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
