Parental Guidance 2012

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: I can't deny I did feel fonder of my own family afterward, mostly because I know none of them would ever make me sit through Parental Guidance. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Does it work? You betcha. There are smiles and tears, love and affirmations, a few funny jokes and a lot of easy sentimentality. Read more

Scott Bowles, USA Today: While its senior stars do a terrific job capturing aging in a youth-crazed culture, Guidance drops the ball, in all departments, in its portrayal of anyone younger than 55. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: From a bounty of low, low moments in "Parental Guidance," it's difficult to choose the absolute lowest. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: [It] might as well be called AARP Presents: Billy Crystal Is Old, And What's Going On With All The Facebooking And Twittering And iPods? Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Thanks to Crystal and Midler playing comfortable versions of the personas we've come to know, it's actually better than you would guess. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: This kernel of inter-generational farce never pops. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: This grating family comedy resembles a sitcom in its flat lighting, patronizing music cues, and frames supplying little visual information apart from the actors' mugging faces. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: After a while it seems to run out of jokes, maybe to make room for all the crying and hug-it-out family redemption in the last half hour. Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: The end result should appeal to audiences, including bonding grandparents and grandkids, looking for a little undemanding holiday cheer. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: Deeply, willfully out of touch ... Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: If you're looking for an all-ages crowd-pleaser, this may be your best bet. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The laughs just aren't there. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: It's a shame they didn't choose a stronger project than Andy Fickman's family comedy, but you could certainly ask for worse babysitters. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Parental Guidance kicks off with a mean-spirited joke about an overweight woman and heads downhill from there. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Parental Guidance is an engaging comedy that bridges multiple generation gaps, making it that rare movie that grandparents, their kids, and their kids can enjoy. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Director Andy Fickman opts against subtlety at every turn. A score filled with heavy strings and the occasional ringing of chimes telegraphs all emotional cues, practically willing the water out of your tear ducts. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: One of those intergenerational embarrassment comedies in the Meet the Fockers line, where children can enjoy seeing grown-ups looking ridiculous. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Parental Guidance should be rated X - suitable for no one. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Say what you will about The Guilt Trip, another pairing of a nebbishy comic and a diva of a certain age, that movie at least offers two recognizable human beings of different generations meeting in the middle and learning something from each other. Read more

Guy Lodge, Time Out: The latest in a long run of 2012 films to confront the indignities of ageing, this one is arguably, if not intentionally, the most harrowing. Read more

Brian Lowry, Variety: The execution, alas, prevents this from being a genuine crowdpleaser, with the better moments (mostly of the schmaltzy variety) more than offset by the irritating and tedious ones. Read more

Chris Packham, Village Voice: An extended "in my day" joke intended to convey the superiority of old people over a lot of supposedly contemporary behavior that doesn't actually exist in real life. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's hard to know who exactly "Parental Guidance" was made for. Read more