Movies are always a favourite option when trying to amuse the kids during the long school holiday break. It’s a couple of hours of ‘time out’ – a chance to sit back and relax, take a rest from sibling squabbles, and hopefully enjoy some quality entertainment while stuffing yourself with warm popcorn.
If you’re tossing up which movie to take the kids to see this weekend, then I’d strongly urge you to choose Parental Guidance over Wreck It Ralph – a MILLION times over. And don’t listen to the newspaper critics. While I have enormous respect for them, in this instance, I disagree with just about all the reviews.
Parental Guidance
Ronnie wanted to see Parental Guidance, and despite one prominent critic giving it only ONE star, we headed off to the cinema anyway, because she loves a comedy. She’d also checked out the trailer and was convinced it would be worth watching. She was right. Get a couple of seasoned comedic veterans like Billy Crystal and Bette Midler and it’s hard to go wrong. Their pairing is fabulous and their comic timing – spot on. The script is busting with gags that will appeal to both younger and older generations.
Even if you don’t have kids, there’s enough family conflict and humour to make it relevant to all. I also enjoyed watching the tug-of-war between the grandparents and their daughter over which type of parenting works best for children. Both are a little extreme – cocooning and helicopter parenting, versus the old school – ‘smack them and tell them to shut up’ variety. At least the film isn’t too heavy-handed in terms of trying to dish out a morality lesson. The audience is given the chance to see both sides can be right, and that black and white isn’t the way to look at life when it comes to raising children. The final message of the film probably falls from Bette’s mouth when she tells her daughter to ‘Stop trying to be the perfect parent. Nobody is.’ How true.
Wreck It Ralph
