Dear Readers,
Last night I did a little research into the films available OnDemand in order to respond to a tweet looking for recommendations. Scrolling through the alphabetical lists, I came across the first movie that I had the pleasure of reviewing for Screen Invasion, and decided that it would make an excellent choice for today’s quickie recommendation.
The Perfect Family is a wickedly and irreverently funny look at the oddities and obstacles inherent to family dynamics.
READ || THE PERFECT FAMILY Movie Review
Eileen Cleary (Kathleen Turner), suburban wife and mother, is one of two nominees for her parish’s Catholic Woman of the Year Award. Shortly after receiving the nomination, Eileen’s devotion to Catholic canon is tested by those she cares for most. Her son (Jason Ritter) has left his wife and twin sons in favor of another woman, and her daughter, Shannon (Emily Deschanel), is five months pregnant and engaged to marry her girlfriend, Angela (Angelique Cabral). Pressured by her husband (Michael McGrady) and Angela’s mother (Elizabeth Peña) to accept it all, and desperate to beat her rival (Sharon Lawrence) by showing the Monsignor (Richard Chamberlain) and the church board that she deserves the award, Eileen wrestles with choosing between family and faith, or finding a compromise position that allows her to have both.
The Perfect Family tackles continually debated, hot-button issues–namely religion, homosexuality, and family–not for the purpose of imposing its judgment, but rather to ask its audience to consider what they’d do in Eileen’s shoes. If you awoke tomorrow to find that your life’s governing tenets suddenly condemned your flesh and blood, how would you react? Is there something that is more important than family? Or, bound to the mortal realm as we are, must the spiritual be subjugated? The choice is yours, but make sure to read the fine print on this one. Most people only get one family in their lifetime and there is no objectively ’perfect’ family. Ultimately, there’s just the family that is perfect for you…and they’re worth fighting for.
Stirringly relatable, endearing, and often absolutely hilarious, I highly recommend that The Perfect Family be your choice the next time you feel like watching a movie OnDemand.
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The Perfect Family (PG-13, 84 min.) was directed by Anne Renton, written by Paula Goldberg and Claire V. Riley, produced by Certainty Films and Present Pictures, and distributed by Variance Films and Gravitas Ventures.
Learn more about The Perfect Family by checking out the movie’s official website and Facebook page, and following director Anne Renton on Twitter.
The Perfect Family is available on Amazon, iTunes, and OnDemand.
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Want more chick flicks?
First, check out previous This Chick’s Flicks pieces.
Then, stay tuned to Screen Invasion for This Chick’s Flicks posts on chick flicks of now and then.
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Follow Sarah Katz on Twitter (@sarahdkatz) for daily Chick Flick recommendations (or tweet her for more suggestions), and stay tuned to Screen Invasion via Twitter (@ScreenInvasion) and Facebook.
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The Perfect Family poster: Courtesy Variance Films/The Perfect Family LLC. | This Chick’s Flicks logo: © 2012 Kristal Bailey. | The Perfect Family image: (Clockwise from L) The Cleary family, Eileen (Kathleen Turner), Shannon (Emily Deschanel), Frank (Michael McGrady), and Frank Jr. (Jason Ritter) gather for dinner in a scene from THE PERFECT FAMILY. Photo by Oana Marian / Courtesy Variance Films/The Perfect Family LLC.
