Sadly Over-hyped

Powerful

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Upon watching this film, you will begin to realize why Ron Livingston's career has gone south to hibernate, and may never return from this awkward film. Also starring Kathy Bates and Danny DeVito in co-starring roles. However, they really do not make the film any more watch-able. The films premise is about a 35 year old man finding out he is adopted, pretty bland for a comedy film, and might I add, Ben Stiller had already done this concept in almost the same exact way several years before in the more successful 'Flirting with Disaster'. I believe that if not the characters portrayed by Bates and DeVito had been "so down to Earth" country bumpkins and looking nothing like Livingston's character, it may have faired better! Even so, this film has a cult following because of Ron Livingston. 3/10!

I see this all the time sadly. Movies that get little to no recognition by hardly anyone that, even though they are not masterpieces, could be a lot of fun to many people. Here again is another movie I decided to watch primarily based on the cast. I mean, with Neve Campbell, Kathy Bates and Danny Devito, I hoped I was going to get some satisfaction at least, and I was certainly right. I thankfully came across this movie because it was at a video store near me that I went to all the time that carried a lot of obscure movies, among popular ones of course. I most definitely did not find it because it had any publicity or anything, which is why it is so unknown. Relative Strangers is all around very fun and entertaining, and well worth the time. While it is not a masterpiece, like I said, I enjoyed it a lot and thought it was a well made film, regardless of minor mediocrities due to budget and indistinguishable crew members (I mean, the director was only known for the Meet the Parents series basically, if anyone knew him for that), and also I do realize it is not the greatest film ever. I got the movie for the cast as I have mentioned, that's it, and that is another reason why I enjoyed it as much as I did. Though the film is not necessarily fantastic on it's own, the cast is wonderful and works with the material amazingly. Neve Campbell and Kathy Bates are a delight for me at least in any film anyway. The story is not amazing and the other main actor, whose name escapes me if I ever knew it in the first place, is not as enjoyable as the other three really well known stars, but it's genuine enjoyability, if you loosen up, is what makes this film come through in the end. So should you give Relative Strangers a chance if you happen to come across this comment? If you know you will be able to like it for what it is, a fun and endearing little speculation, then most definitely, because it is just a very fun movie with some heartwarming qualities. I was very pleased with the outcome, and am glad I had the chance to view it. Do not even pay attention to it's ridiculous rating.

Imagine the cruelty of adoptive parents to tell an unsuspecting son that he is adopted? To make matters worse, the Claytons, a rich couple, have waited a long time to spring the news to Richard, who is about to get married! This is the premise for this comedy created by Greg Glienna, who also contributed to its screen play. The film, which went directly to video, never had a chance to make it commercially, in spite of the prominent figures in the cast. In fact, the film seems to this viewer as a variation of the more successful "Meet the Parents", which employed Mr. Glienna as a writer. Not that this film is horrible, by any means, but it appears the powers that be must have had doubts about its impact and sent it to the DVD limbo.Ron Livingston, who is seen as Richard, the man who is told he has been living a lie, is quite good and shows a flair for comedy. Neve Campbell is also effective in playing the object of Richard's love. The combination of the vulgar Meneres as played broadly by Danny Devito and Kathy Bates have some good moments. Christine Baranski and Edward Herrmann play the Claytons, the uptight adoptive parents. The one that is hardly recognizable is Beverly D'Angelo, who must have gone through a procedure to change the way we remembered her.

Well, the originality wasn't there but it had some pretty funny moments. They're not laugh gut busting moments but the chuckles are constant. Bates and DeVito were good together and the rest of the cast were well casted. But why does this movie get old after about 40 minutes? It than turned into another typical comedy and the ending is pretty much predicted.All in all this is a decent direct to video comedy that still has better written jokes than most of the comedies out there right now. But than again, only two or three comedies stand out every year. For me it was Little Miss Sunshine and Crank.Give it a try.