By Michael Colford
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jason Bateman
Starring: Christopher Walken | Jason Bateman | Kathryn Hahn | Nicole Kidman
Country: united_states
Year: 2016
Running time: 105
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2097331/
Michael says: “Just watched a pretty accomplished film called THE FAMILY FANG, starring Nicole Kidman and Jason Bateman, directed by Bateman. This offbeat tale looks at the Fang family, led by a pair of performance artists who put their two young children, a daughter and son, in the heart of their art. Now adults, the kids, Annie and Baxter (or Child A and Child B – as their father still calls them) find themselves having difficulty being adults and shaking the odd circumstances their parents continuously placed them in growing up. Annie is a struggling actor, those tabloid headlines are almost as frequent as her films, and Baxter is an author who had success with his debut, then slumped with his second offering, and now struggles with writer’s block. When a freak accident brings the family together again, and an even freakier turn of events leads to the Fang parents’ disappearance and possible murder, Annie and Baxter find themselves in a very odd circumstance indeed.
“I was intrigued to see this film ever since I first heard about it. I read Kevin Wilson’s novel upon which this film is based, in fact it was my #9 book read in 2011. Bateman’s direction brings a light touch to the extreme satire of Wilson’s original work, and, as adapted by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, the screenplay focuses in on the motives and emotions of the characters, rather than the quirky actions that drive the story. Nicole Kidman is fantastic as the woman struggling to make a break from her past and be successful (even though her Australian accent slips into her dialect more than it should) and Jason Bateman delivers a somber, broken man without overdoing it in the least. I can see some acting, screenplay, and possibly music nods for THE FAMILY FANG. 4 cats“