Instant Family Reviews
November 16, 2018
"Instant Family's" heart is in the right place. It celebrates and honors the family unit, and at a time when many families are being torn apart, there's something to be said for a spirit of togetherness.
Full Review
| Original Score: B
November 15, 2018
When it works, it's genuinely funny and moving. But when it doesn't, hoo boy, it's atrocious. But it mostly works. I think. Maybe.
November 15, 2018
Instant Family has heart and good intentions. It's a shame the journey is such a bumpy ride as it takes us all over the map.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
November 15, 2018
The kind of honest, human comedy that's so rare these days that when one finally comes along, you sit there in the theater in slack-jawed amazement.
Full Review
| Original Score: 8/10
November 15, 2018
It's a shame that "Instant Family" reduces the complexity, pain and joy of parenthood to a multiplex-palatable family comedy. The real story is probably far more interesting ... and hopefully funnier.
November 15, 2018
Every hurt gets a balm applied real quick, the better to get to the next classic-rock-scored feel-good montage.
November 15, 2018
This is a funny-serious, family-friendly movie about a weighty subject, and somehow it works.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
November 14, 2018
[It] looks, sounds, and sometimes acts like a dumb comedy. But stick with it, and you'll discover that Sean Anders' latest is an earnest, moving family drama that just happens to be kinda funny.
November 14, 2018
It's a little too manipulative to be a truly honest portrayal of family.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/4
November 14, 2018
Too well-meaning and sincere to truly dislike, but too frictionless and manufactured to do right by the complicated scenario.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/5
November 14, 2018
This is a pure feel-gooder that not only has its heart in the right place, but its brains as well. And it's funny.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
November 14, 2018
It's a surprisingly winning movie, packed with just the right combination of laughs and sniffles. Damn you, Wahlberg!
Full Review
| Original Score: B
November 14, 2018
Never as hackneyed as it is heartfelt, "Instant Family" takes the stuff of real life and turns it into a touching reminder of what love can do for the people who need it.
Full Review
| Original Score: C+
November 14, 2018
Instant Family balances its sitcom tone with some real, unexpected heart.
Full Review
| Original Score: B-
November 14, 2018
It's genial and spirited and - unsurprisingly, given its genesis - has at least a basic feel for life as it's lived, full of stings and surprises.
November 14, 2018
You could call it sentimental and glib and say that it was put through a processor, and you'd be right, but in its on-the-nose cookie-cutter way this slice-of-life pablum has a lite humanity.