Instant Family 2018

     Pete and Ellie Wagner are a married couple and they’ve started talking about having children.  They buy homes and renovate them to flip for a profit as their jobs.  Ellie looks online and she learns that there are many children in foster care.  Many have been in the system for a long time or until they age out.  She talks to Pete and he’s not for this idea until he looks at the children online too.  They meet with other families thinking about adopting as a group and the coordinators Karen and Sharon.  At first Pete and Ellie pass by the teens until one of the teens, Lizzie points out that they know that they are almost likely not to be adopted?  They decide to talk to Karen and Sharon about Lizzie.  Then they learn that Lizzie has a younger brother and sister, Juan and Lita.  After thinking and talking the situation over, they decide to take the three children.

     There are both funny and serious moments in this film.  I did not know that children going to Family Court receive a teddy bear each time they go.  This may differ by states?  The number of bears they have when they go to a family tells how many times they have been to court.  One of the main complaints about this film is the language?  The film has a PG-13 rating and that means parental guidance suggested and some material inappropriate for children under 13.  Couldn’t the language be left out so younger children could watch a film about children their age?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie.           

118 min, Comedy directed by Sean Anders with Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Moner, Gustavo Escobar, Julianna Gamiz, Octavia Spencer, Tig Notaro, Tom Seguar, Allyn Rachel, Britt Rentschler, Jody Thompson, Margo Martindale, Julie Hagerty, Michael O’Keefe, Joan Cusack.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 82% critic 81% audience, Roger Ebert Monica Castillo 2 ½*, RollingStone 2* out of 5* Tim Grierson, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Mike McCahill, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 28 critics 7.4 out of 10 with 70 user scores (52 positive, 14 mixed, 4 negative), Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 1111 reviews, Common Sense Media age 13+ 4* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Atlanta, Georgia.  This film is based on 

the real life experiences of director Sean Anders and his wife.  They adopted 3 children from Seneca Family of Agencies’ Kinship Center.  The dog “Meatball” is a three-year old Bernese Mountain Dog.  He completed his AKC grand Championship obedience title, several rally obedience titles and a dock diving title.  After filming he added BMDCA and Canadian draft titles and several others, becoming a Versatility Dog in both the US and Canada.  Director Sean Anders and actor Mark Wahlberg worked together on Daddy’s Home 2015 and Daddy’s Home Two 2017.