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Teenagers often get frustrated with their parents—with their rules and their expectations and their embarrassing behavior. They wish their parents could be cooler or more laid back. And in Being Frank, one teenager is shocked to discover a completely different side to his ultra-strict dad.
Being Frank sneaks out of the house with Philip (Logan Miller), an awkward teen who just wants to have some fun during his last spring break of high school. Philip’s dad, Frank (Jim Gaffigan), is supposed to be on yet another business trip to Japan—but, instead, he shows up at the resort where Philip is hanging out with his best friend. When Philip follows Frank, he finds that his father has been living two separate lives with two separate families. Even worse: this other family has gotten a kinder, more easy-going version of him.
The story of a character who ends up caught up in layers of lies is nothing new. In fact, it’s a pretty common subject. And Being Frank handles it with all of the messiness and awkwardness that you’d expect. It’s a story of complicated feelings, strained relationships, and close calls.
When Philip discovers Frank’s secret—and puts all of the pieces together—he realizes that he suddenly has power over his controlling father. But it isn’t long after that realization that he also realizes that he’s now a part of the lie—and if he reveals the truth, he’ll hurt his mother and sister, as well as Frank’s other wife and kids (who, as it turns out, are pretty cool). As he poses as his dad’s best friend’s troubled son, he has to keep up the deception, just as Frank has done for years. And when Philip’s mom and sister show up looking for him, everything gets even more complicated.
The story offers plenty of opportunities for reflection and connections and comic mishaps. Along the way, though, the filmmakers sometimes seem to struggle to keep up with the story almost as much as the characters do. There are inconsistencies in the plot, and the dialogue is often awkward. But, thanks to the likable characters and the lighthearted comedy, the whole thing is still oddly funny in a seriously messed-up kind of way.
With its layers of secrets and lies and mishaps, Being Frank is an appropriately messy family comedy. Its awkwardness keeps it from being a must-see, but it’s an amusing choice for some lighthearted laughs.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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