Here’s a full disclosure: My life has changed immensely since I became a parent. It’s only been three years, but being a father has felt like an incredibly rewarding gift that has changed my perspective on many avenues of life. As such, when it comes to things involving kids, I react more sentimentally than I did before. Even so, I went into the family comedy Instant Family, a tale about a married couple in their late 40s who suddenly decide to adopt three kids, with low expectations for multiple reasons.

To start with, the somewhat promising trailers featured slapstick comedy so heavily, I expected a by-the-numbers popcorn film. Then, there was the fact that the film starred Mark Wahlberg, an actor who has the ability to shine in certain roles, but has had a history of phoning it in formulaic looking films like this. But my biggest concern was that the film was directed and written by Sean Anders.

Who’s that, you might wonder? Well, if you’ve ever been up late at night in front of the idiot box on a weekend, eyes red, chips crumbled on your t-shirt and drinks on the table watching a movie on cable TV, then it is highly likely you’ve consumed some of his underwhelming work such as We’re the Millers (2013), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014), Dumb and Dumber To (2014), Daddy’s Home (2015) and Daddy’s Home 2 (2017).

Instant Family has an air of credibility and this comes from the fact that director Sean Anders’ screenplay is based on his own life

Watching Instant Family, I had to double check that it was by the same filmmaker/writer. Comparatively restrained, featuring good characterisation, occasionally touching and even a bit authentic, this surprisingly watchable piece of cinema is an example of how a creative person can excel when they are true to themselves and not just their paycheck.

The film tells the story of married couple Pete (Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) Wagner, who unexpectedly realise that they are missing out on parenthood. They meet a couple of social workers who direct them to a fair where they can meet potential foster children. After spending some time exploring, the duo asks themselves why they shouldn’t adopt an older child when they meet teenager Lizzie (Isabela Moner).

Later they learn that Lizzie has two younger preteen siblings, Juan (Gustavo Quiroz) and Lita (Julianna Gamiz) and that the three entered the system when their drug addict of a mother was sent to jail. After deciding to proceed, the newly formed family goes through many gratifying moments but plenty of rocky ones as well in what is an interesting story for the most part.

Some of the poignant scenes can feel quite heavy-handed while the humour is somewhat crass and revealing of Sean Anders’ low-brow roots.

Instant Family has an air of credibility and this comes from the fact that Sean Anders’ screenplay is based on his own life. After he achieved success in his career, he and his wife didn’t have time to go through a pregnancy and ultimately decided to adopt three siblings to make up for lost years. Many of the film’s set pieces, both comedic and serious, are torn from reality.

Though it is good, Instant Family is far from a perfect film. Some of the poignant scenes can feel quite heavy-handed while the humour is somewhat crass and revealing of Sean Anders’ low-brow roots. To make matters worse, the forced attempts at laughs upset the pacing of a film that can at times be quite dark.

Still, if you aren’t going in expecting an award-winning character study of a new family under pressure, then Instant Family will certainly scratch that feel-good, tear-jerker drama itch that you didn’t know you had.

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual material, language and some drug references

Published in Dawn, ICON, December 9th, 2018