Whether you’re talking about relationships, raising children or even technology, many of us view something that’s considered “old school” as being outdated and useless in these modern times. Some of the people who are referred to as “new school” believe that they know what’s right and usually scoff at anything that looked at as old school knowledge. Like some of the characters in Parental Guidance, there are members from the old school and new school who eventually discover that experience, you can blend elements of both schools together for effective results. Download Parental Guidance In this film, we find old man Artie (Billy Crystal) doing a job that he truly loves. Through April to September, he’s guaranteed to join the boys of summer nearly everyday when he gets to call baseball games for the Fresno Grizzlies. It’s only a minor league team, but Artie loves it anyway and has been at it since his daughter Alice (Marisa Tomei) was young. As of now, his dream has always been the same; he wants to call games for Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. Well, his dream may or may not come true, but he’s satisfied with what he has going with the Grizzlies. Download Parental Guidance Maybe I should say what he had going on with the Grizzlies. The long minor league season comes to a close and now the commentating veteran is getting ready to go home and spend more time with his wife Diane (Bette Midler) during the offseason. Little did he know that the time off that he considered temporary would actually end up being on more of a permanent basis. According to the higher-ups in the Grizzlies’ front office, it’s time for Artie to go. They know he’s a good guy and that he takes his job seriously, but they also don’t see him as being what people today would consider to be hip or new school. They want someone who is modern, someone who knows what twitter (follow me @MoviePicShow) and facebook (like my fan page) are. In spite of them liking him on a personal level, they believe it’s time to move in a new direction with someone who can relate to people of the 21 century. While the recently unemployed Artie is considered to be old school, his daughter Alice and her husband Phil (Tom Everett Scott) are the might define what it means to be new school and they have the hectic technological careers to prove it. These two health food junkies are raising their kids with a new set of rules that allows them to voice their displeasure in what is perceived as a more civil way. They also believe in living in a world where you have to spare a child’s feelings at whatever cost. These two worlds merge when Phil asks his wife to accompany him on a business trip for a few days. At first, they try to get his parents to watch the kids, but they’re unable to do so. With that being the case, they could either have Alice stay home with the kids, or get her parents to watch them instead. After some hesitation, Alice finally makes the phone call and the two loving grandparents decide to pitch in to help the parents of these three young whipper snappers. Since Parental Guidance is rated PG (PG stands for parental guidance), it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that it’s a family first and kid safe film. The only question going into it for me is whether or not it be at least be a little bit on the funny side. When looking at the style of comedy, what we get in Parental Guidance is kind of a blend between both grandparents and grandkids causing trouble at every turn when they get to spend time with one another. For starters, you have the grandparents, Artie and Diane Decker who have rules that they strongly believe in. The Deckers are of the mindset that sometimes tough love is the best love in certain scenarios. Their brand of love can be for anyone, at any place and at anytime. They know how to show love for their loved ones in many ways, and whether it’s through discipline, helping someone out or having fun, there are a lot of situations that present themselves for these two show it Just about all of those situations directly include the three grandchildren of Artie and Diana Decker. You have your problem child in Barker (Kyle Harrison Breitkapf) who seems to wreak havoc in any environment, Turner (Joshua Rush), the middle child who needs to learn how to control his speech impediment and stand up for himself and you have Harper (Bailee Madison), the young and gifted musician who’d be considered to be a perfectionist by anyone’s standards. Seeing as these three have been raised in a way that is the direct antithesis of how their grandparents do business, there’s obviously going to be an adjustment period for the clan. During this adjustment period, some of the trials and tribulations that they experience are to be expected, but some of it are things that you rarely used in movies. When I look at the comedy contained in Parental Guidance, I have to admit that I laughed far more than I thought I would. There are quite a few of these comedic sets that would probably make just about anyone laugh, but I didn’t think this would be as funny as it is. These bits are usually childish, but that’s to be expected in a family film of this quality. Now although I enjoyed much of the comedy portion of Parental Guidance, I do have some complaints. The issues that I have a problem with comes from the fact that the movie is far more sentimental than it should be. I understand that they want to create a heart warming film that people of all ages can enjoy, but I think they over did it with all of the sappy and cheesy elements that are constantly interjected into it. In spite of the corny aura that the story touches upon, Parental Guidance is most certainly fun to watch. It’s a movie that I would feel completely comfortable taking my children to go see if I had any. This flick is not something that I’ll go out of my way to watch again, but it’s also not a movie that I would shy away from checking out if I ever run into it again. Despite its flaws, Parental Guidance is a positive family film that quite a few people will find entertaining in some way.
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