FAMILY FANG, THE

THE FAMILY FANG REVIEWED

“The Family Fang” is a disappointing follow-up to Jason Bateman’s directorial debut on “Bad Words”. This isn’t a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. However, it’s a lackluster adaptation of a rather wonderful book. Placing two adult siblings on a scavenger hunt for their missing performance artist parents is a Wes Anderson concept. However, this film goes out of their way to kill any sense of whimsy. Everything is played serious, even the desire to look back on an abnormal childhood. I won’t discuss the ending, as that paints an exact picture of everything wrong with the movie. But, I’ll some up its faults with one word “tone”. The tonal shifts and inability to hit any sort of established pattern is pretty insane. This movie aspires for so much, but it ultimately feels like a college aged kid trying to be edgy. I’m not quite sure where the material got away from Bateman, but he has it in him as a director to do so much more. Nicole Kidman works well with the time she’s given onscreen, but she has to play the unfavorable role of the straight laced sibling.

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