Movie Review - The Family Fang

The Family Fang (2016)

Starring Nicole Kidman, Jason Bateman, Christopher Walken, Maryann Plunkett, Jason Butler Harner, and Kathryn Hahn

Directed by Jason Bateman

Surprisingly more serious than I expected, The Family Fang is a drama with hints of dark comedy at the edges as we're introduced to the Fang family headed by patriarch Caleb (Christopher Walken in the present, Jason Butler Harner in the past) and matriarch Camille (Maryann Plunkett in the present, Kathryn Hahn in the past) who create performance art by placing the unsuspecting public in difficult situations presented by their family.  As adults, Caleb and Camille's children Baxter and Annie (Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman) look back on their youth with disdain, feeling that their crazy parents harmed them in their adult careers as a writer and actress, respectively.  When the family is reunited after Baxter has an accident, Caleb and Camille try to unsuccessfully convince their children to help them with another piece of performance art, after which the parents decide to head off to a vacation in the Northeast...only to seemingly be involved in a horrible abduction that leaves them presumed dead.  Despite the police insistence, Baxter and Annie aren't convinced that their parents are actually dead, but rather creating an incredibly elaborate piece of performance art.

The Family Fang has a lot more depth than I expected.  Amidst the odd quirkiness which creates some truly comedic moments is a surprisingly heartfelt family drama.  The dysfunction displayed doesn't seem contrived, but instead feels natural and believable.  Sure, some of the performance art routines perpetrated by the youthful Caleb and Camille are a bit over-the-top and far-fetched, but they do a nice job in helping to build the resentment of Baxter and Annie which is wonderfully captured by the downtrodden, moderately depressed portrayals by Jason Bateman and Nicole Kidman.  The duo of Bateman and Kidman play off each other quite well and nicely balance the darkly comic and darkly dramatic sides present in director Bateman's film.  This is a big step up from Bateman's last directorial venture Bad Words and shows that the actor has definite promise behind the lens particularly in the "dramedy" genre where it's often difficult to create a well-balanced feature.  In addition to the nice performances by Kidman and Bateman, all of the actors portraying the parents are successful as well with particular kudos to Maryann Plunkett as the elder Camille who finds herself questioning in her adult life whether she's done more harm to her children than good.

The RyMickey Rating:  B