0
0
The rules of parenting are constantly changing. It wasn’t long ago that babies were supposed to sleep on their stomachs in drop-side cribs, protected by bumpers and warmed by cuddly blankets. Now, they’re supposed to sleep on their backs in fixed-side cribs, with nothing but an oversized sleep sack for warmth and comfort. It’s no wonder, then, that grandparents can become a little overwhelmed when it comes to caring for their grandchildren. But, as the family comedy Parental Guidance suggests, sometimes Grandma still knows best.
Billy Crystal stars as Artie Decker, a minor league baseball announcer whose world is thrown into a tailspin when he’s fired from his job with the Fresno Grizzlies for being too old and unhip. As Artie’s trying to figure out his next steps, he and his wife, Diane (Bette Midler), get a call from their daughter, Alice (Marisa Tomei). Alice’s husband, Phil (Tom Everett Scott), has been nominated for a prestigious award, and they need someone to watch their three kids for a few days while they head to the award ceremony in Hilton Head for a much-needed getaway.
Though Artie is reluctant to spend a week under his disapproving daughter’s roof, Diane sees it as an opportunity to bond with the grandchildren whom they rarely see. But once they arrive at Alice’s house in Atlanta, they soon discover that watching three active kids won’t be a walk in the park.
For the most part, your reaction to Parental Guidance will depend on your views on parenting. If you believe that children should be pushed to excel…or that kids should never eat anything containing sugar or play with toy guns (including the kind filled with water)…or that you should never use words like “no” or “don’t” around your children, then you’re sure to be angered and offended by the overall attitude of this film. If, on the other hand, you believe that kids should be encouraged to play Kick the Can in the back yard…or that a little bit of discipline is okay—and a little bit of bribery goes a long way—then you’ll find it amusing, in an old-folksy kind of way.
Though it may be a PG-rated, family-friendly comedy, the film’s real target audience is grandmas and grandpas who are totally perplexed by their kids’ parenting strategies. After all, no matter how much Artie and Diane mess things up, they still come out on top—and, as a result, their grandkids are better and well-adjusted in the end.
The comedy, meanwhile, is exactly what you’d expect from Billy Crystal and Bette Midler. It’s silly—and a little bit awkward at times—but it’s also amusingly old-fashioned, with a few surprising laugh-out-loud moments. Crystal and Midler are as over-the-top and vaudevillian as ever, yet they’re strangely charming, too. And you can’t help but feel sorry for their characters as they try to work within the unfamiliar boundaries of their daughter’s parenting techniques while also attempting to do what they feel is best for their grandkids.
Though some scenes (especially those involving Alice and Phil in Hilton Head) are completely unnecessary—and it all gets a little too sappy for a little too long in the end—Parental Guidance is a perfectly harmless family comedy, created with Grandma and Grandpa in mind. Just be warned that, after watching it, they’ll feel even more confident (and perhaps more insistent) that their parenting techniques are the right ones.
