Movie Review: 'Family Weekend'

If a family doesn’t stick together, sometimes you have to use a little tape.

Just recently, TIFF ran their TIFF Next Wave Film Festival, a festival is exclusively for young film enthusiasts and features films not only for youth but also some made by youth, plus workshops and panels that look into the movie making industry.

This year, they showcased 10 Canadian and international films, a five-film John Hughes marathon as well as a 24-Hour Film Challenge for high-school teams, a Talent Lab for youth aged 14–18 and the popular Battle of the Scores on Opening Night.

One of those films was Family Weekend, starring Kristin Chenoweth (Glee), Matthew Modine (Weeds) and Olesya Rulin (High School Musical), about 16-year-old organizational-addict Emily (Olesya) and her desperate attempt to bring her dysfunctional family back to normal.

Despite her constant reminders, everyone (including both parents, two brothers and one sister) forgets to come out for her regional jump-rope competition. So, she takes matters into her own hands.

After holding her parents hostage (the jump-ropes make for great restraints), Emily forces them to confront their issues–both as parents and as a married couple–while her younger siblings help and her older brother captures it all on video. But when a neighbour/nemesis sneaks over to watch and ends up posting photos and video online, Emily’s plan goes suddenly out of control.

Here’s the run down:

Arts: Between arguing parents and break-downs from most of the kids, I’d say this movie has the lock-down on dramatic storylines.

Drama: Every member of Emily’s family is eccentric in some way: whether it’s being a workaholic, a closet straight guy, a drama queen, a jump-rope enthusiast or animal fanatic, it seems that quirkiness is in the genes. Hilarity ensues.

Sacrifice: The only thing sadder than the state of Emily’s family at the beginning of the film, is the fact that she has no outside friend to confide in. Look for unlikely friendships to blossom throughout.