Parental Guidance (2012)
Average Rating: 3.8/10
Reviews Counted: 82
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 67
Parental Guidance is sweet but milquetoast, an inoffensive trifle that's blandly predictable.
Average Rating: 4.3/10
Critic Reviews: 23
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 18
Parental Guidance is sweet but milquetoast, an inoffensive trifle that's blandly predictable.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 38,118
My Rating
Movie Info
Old school grandfather Artie (Billy Crystal), who is accustomed to calling the shots, meets his match when he and his eager-to-please wife Diane (Bette Midler) agree to babysit their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents (Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott) go away for work. But when 21st century problems collide with Artie and Diane's old school methods of tough rules, lots of love and old-fashioned games, it's learning to bend - and not holding your ground - that binds a family
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Cast
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Billy Crystal
Artie Decker -
Bette Midler
Diane Decker -
Marisa Tomei
Alice, Alice Simmons -
Tom Everett Scott
Phil, Phil Simmons -
Bailee Madison
Harper, Harper Simmons -
Joshua Rush
Turner -
Kyle Harrison Breitkopf
Barker
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Parental Guidance Trailer & Photos
All Critics (82) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (68) | DVD (1)
This grating family comedy resembles a sitcom in its flat lighting, patronizing music cues, and frames supplying little visual information apart from the actors' mugging faces.
Top CriticOne of those intergenerational embarrassment comedies in the Meet the Fockers line, where children can enjoy seeing grown-ups looking ridiculous.
An extended "in my day" joke intended to convey the superiority of old people over a lot of supposedly contemporary behavior that doesn't actually exist in real life.
After a while it seems to run out of jokes, maybe to make room for all the crying and hug-it-out family redemption in the last half hour.
I can't deny I did feel fonder of my own family afterward, mostly because I know none of them would ever make me sit through Parental Guidance.
It's hard to know who exactly "Parental Guidance" was made for.
Borscht Belt humor combines with serious schmaltz to produce this gummy formulaic family comedy.
A crotchety Billy Crystal earns more shrugs than laughs in this badly overacted family comedy.
People with brains they can't turn on and off for 90 minute stretches of holiday family togetherness will be driven to take some kind of painkiller before the final credits roll. Everyone else will be fine
If 'Parental Guidance' is the drivel that's passing for family fare this winter, then it's best to just keep your family warm and entertained at home.
... a shameless mix of obnoxious slapstick and relentless bodily-function humor that results in shots to the crotch for Crystal and blows to the brain for moviegoers.
I don't know if it's reassuring or scary that in such an American film the kids seems to be UK-style victims of both health and safety rules and political correctness at the same time.
Poor Crystal. There remains a scintilla of dignity in his sad clown. He may beatbox while wearing wraparound sunglasses, but, thankfully for you and yours, he does not dance the robot.
The underlying issues make for a surprisingly relevant film.
A yappy pile-up of grandparents-know-best shtick, gross-out bathroom humor and sentimental claptrap.
Crystal, Midler and Tomei make a perfect combination for this funny but heartwarming family film
A brutal comedy of bad manners ...
Just as ghastly as it sounds.
The family friendliest movie comedy this holiday season is also the sappiest and schmaltziest. And thanks to Billy Crystal, the shtickiest.
A film with little else to commend it from the obvious.
Frankly it all feels a bit obvious, perfunctory and dated.
Midler does her best as a put-upon grandma but, ultimately, Parental Guidance feels dated.
Warm and schmaltzy, Parental Guidance is the movie equivalent of comfort food. It's funny and warmhearted, not terribly ambitious, but it does the things it sets out to do well.
Audience Reviews for Parental Guidance
Super Reviewer
Good Family Movie! You watch a movie with Billy Crystal to laugh, and he doesn't disappoint. Crystal keeps in tune with the easygoing wit that made his hosting the Oscars so funny. "Parental Guidance" is a return to what made him famous in the first place: nice, funny family-friendly comedy. Marisa Tomei is still a stunning beauty. She steals her scenes with unrivaled grace, no matter the movie, and here plays a mom different than her own parents. The comparison makes for a laugh in itself; especially where Crystal and Tomei interact. There's no smut, no swearing, and no vulgarity. "Parental Guidance" is a refreshing blend of old and new that proves what made the classic laughs so great. Well done.
Old school grandfather Artie (Billy Crystal), who is accustomed to calling the shots, meets his match when he and his eager-to-please wife Diane (Bette Midler) agree to babysit their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents (Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott) go away for work. But when 21st century problems collide with Artie and Diane's old school methods of tough rules, lots of love and old-fashioned games, it's learning to bend - and not holding your ground - that binds a family together.
Super Reviewer
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- Artie Decker: I taught them how to shave! Show 'em your legs Boys!
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- Diane Decker: [to Violin Teacher] If you EVER speak to my Granddaughter like that again..There will be nothing left of you but some red hair and an accent... Is that clear comrade?
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- Diane Decker: You gotta shape up Artie! You know what Grandparenting is? A Second chance!
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- Diane Decker: After your kids grow up... Your husband is the one who stays!
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- Alice Simmons: That's not bad!
- Diane Decker: Not Bad? She looks like a 12 year old widow!
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- Artie Decker: Ok I tell you what... Don't call me Grandpa... Call me Artie!
- Barker: Can I call you Fartie?
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| It's a good movie | 41 days ago | 12 |
| Watch "Parental Guidance" Movie Free Online Just saw it here | 3 months ago | 0 |
| parental guidance | 3 months ago | 2 |
| Parental Guidance, glad to see it | 3 months ago | 5 |
| Stop advertising this crap movie!! | 4 months ago | 3 |
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Foreign Titles
- Die Bestimmer - Kinder haften für ihre Eltern (DE)
- Le Choc des générations (FR)
