Wonderful character development!

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

First, kudos to Matt K. Turner who created this wonderful group of characters. The film opens with everything pristine white, neat and orderly. It is an ideal household on the surface. This world quickly falls apart as we discover the family has drifted apart. The family cast of characters:Dad (Matthew Modine) is a has-been artist. He smokes pot and sleeps a lot. He is a 60's hippie type.Mom (Kristin Chenoweth) is the family bread winner. She is a workaholic and the least likeable of the family.Emily (Olesya Rulin) is the centerpiece to this tale. She jumps rope competitively and would love some family support.Jack (Eddie Hassell) is the older son who describes himself as a "raging homosexual." He makes short features for the Internet and wants to be called "Thor."Lucy (Joey King) is my favorite. She loves movies and fancies herself an actress. When we first meet her she has immersed herself into "Iris" the child prostitute from "Taxi."Mickey (Robbie Tucker) is the introverted young son who memorizes every spoken word. No one ever questions his memory.Grandma Gale or GG (Shirley Jones) is The father's mother and doesn't get along with his wife. She is somewhat New Age in this film.When everyone in the family missed Emily's semi-final jump rope competition she is upset and devises an over the top plan to force her parents to act like parents. I was laughing out loud over the antics and at Lucy.Joey King was fantastic as she assumed multiple film roles, none of which any parent would allow a nine year old to watch. At the end, the film then shifts to heart warming mode as do most indie comedies.Parental Guide: 1 f-bomb, no sex or nudity. Sex talk.

"Family Weekend" is a dark comedy about a 16-year-old girl, Emily (Olesya Rulin), who takes her family into her own hands to turn them into a normal family. But it's not going to be easy; Samantha Smith- Dungy (Kristen Chenoweth) is a workaholic mom, Duncan Dungy (Matthew Modine) is a hippie artist dad, and her brother and sister are maladjusted kids who think they are perfectly well-adjusted.Emily takes after her mother and plots and schedules the success of her teenage life. One of which is her plan to win a jump rope competition, but her family isn't there to watch her compete because they can't think of anything beyond themselves. At the beginning, the film works because we care for Emily, we feel bad for her, and it's time to whip these idiots into shape.She talks her brother and sister into taking her side, and they take their parents hostage and hold them captive inside their own house until they learn to think, talk and act like real parents. It sounds juvenile but it doesn't seem so bad in execution because Emily has a plan for how to reach maturity.Surprising, or rather unsurprisingly, things don't go according to plan and Emily has made drastic changes to a drastic undertaking. I definitely could have used with a few less detours in Emily's strategy as it hurts her credentials as a sympathetic leading character, which is already on shaky ground, what with the whole kidnapping her parents idea and all.Things then get dramatic which follows Emily losing her sympathy, but the comedy gets back on track with a happy medium between her current family and her ideal family and a resolution which is un-Hollywood but still uplifting. There's also a joke (which I will leave unspoiled as I think it's one of the better ones I have seen) that gives a resolution to her brother's dissatisfied life that is funny, original and meaningful all in one.All in all, "Family Weekend" works well as a dark comedy indie even with a few dramatic and comedic missteps because the beginning and ending are clever enough to keep it cute and entertaining.

This is a oddity of a sweet family movie. Yes it's rated R for some suggestive language and of course, kidnapping, and mild drug use. 16-year old Emily holds her parents capture at home the weekend of her state jumping finals because she wants them to remember how they used to be a loving family. The moral is clear and she makes her point. I would watch this with a family (kids age 12+). Kristen Chenowith, Matthew Modine co-star, but it's really the kids who shine here, most notably the star, Oleysa Rulin, and actors who portray her siblings: Joey King, Robbie Tucker, and Eddie Hassle It's a sweet and strange movie.

And what should family mean? No family is "perfect." We have hard times that can change the coarse of life. Family is love. In it's own twisted way sometimes. Family Weekend shows us that we, as a family, can fall apart really fast and never notice. That we can say things to siblings that can be really hurtful and never give a second thought. The point is to all ways come back no matter what. Because no one is perfect but it's up to us to make a difference in ones life. Family Weekend shows us that sometimes we have to go the extra mile to prove that someone is wrong and that we ether have to "fix" it or "save" it no matter what the costs. We have to accept the card we've been dealt even if that means some screaming and mental pain for a couple days. Because we have to stick it out. Because if we don't...what would family really be? I highly suggest this movie for anyone who has had family problems or is going through them. It's an encouragement in it's own way.