Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Instant Family Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 6, 2019

Instant Family feels as patched together as the family depicted in it. This is a movie with an honest heart and a sincere sense of purpose, but the picture falls flat under the stresses of a wholly inorganic structure. It's a film that reaches for, and fully embraces, predictable plot contrivances meant to manipulate the viewer, not authentically and organically depict the story of a family brought together from two disparate backgrounds. Director Sean Anders (Daddy's Home, Daddy's Home 2), who co-wrote the screenplay with John Morris, seems fully content to build the film from assembly line stock parts, and the result is an emotionless, overlong, and tiresome movie without so much as a shred of story depth or creativity to its name.

Pete and Ellie Wagner (Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne) are good people who have been together for quite some time. But for the longest time it's just been the two of them. Biological children are not in the cards, and Ellie starts planting seeds that she would like to foster and, maybe one day, adopt. Pete, who is busy with his home renovation business, balks at the idea, but when he finally sits down to take a good, hard look at the kids in need, his heart softens to the idea. The couple enters into the process and works with two caring social workers named Karen (Octavia Spencer) and Sharon (Tig Notaro). Pete and Ellie are paired with several other couples and individuals looking for the same thing. They complete a rigorous eight-week foster program that shows them the ropes but that really cannot prepare them for what's ahead. Pete and Ellie eventually agree to foster three children, siblings, including teenager Lizzie (Isabela Moner), the middle son Juan (Gustavo Quiroz), and the youngest, Lita (Julianna Gamiz).

Of course, everything does not go swimmingly. At the first family Christmas, the younger ones dismiss their pricey presents in favor the large cardboard boxes they shipped in. Annoying, kind of a waste of money, but OK, Pete and Ellie can deal with some growing pains during what is obviously an awkward transitional phase. But Christmas dinner is a disaster, too, when Lita refuses to eat anything but potato chips, which explodes into a literal fire at the table, among other scares. The younger ones bring attitude and their own little quirks, Lizzie is a typically rebellious teenager who won’t even give the Wagners a chance, and before long Pete and Ellie find themselves at wit’s end, scheming up ways to dump the kids back into the system while saving face at the same time. Though the younger ones come around to the idea of living with the Wagners, Lizzie remains dead-set against the idea of folding into the family and is only too happy to hear that her biological mother (Joselin Reyes), a recovering addict, may finally be ready to reunite with her children.

There's a good concept here, but it's one on which the filmmakers cannot capitalize. The humor is stale and the machinations are absolutely predictable. Pete and Ellie are gaga over the prospect of fostering (check). Finally, everything is go for them to take in the kids (check). Everything seems great right out of the gate (check). Cracks in the armor materialize (check). Cracks become crevices (check). The parents nearly give up (check). A tender moment mends a fence (check). A scary accident requiring a rush to the emergency room seems like just the ticket to glue the family back together (check). The eldest continues her rebellion (check). The biological mother returns to the picture (check). The court gets involved (check). Will there be a happily ever after? Can the Wagners and the children make a go of it? Will love, not spite, win out in the end? The movie may as well play with a running checklist along the side of the screen. What should be a heartfelt Dramedy is instead a linear slog with almost no redeeming value.

The performances are decent enough if one is looking for a silver lining. Wahlberg and Byrne are certainly not a super couple -- there's no genuine chemistry here -- but individually the actors hit their notes with enough gusto when they are angry and enough faux sincerity when they are trying to patch things up with the kids or with one another to keep the movie working within its strict structural confines. The kids are capable, too, with the youngest playing largely one-trick ponies, unsurprisingly, while Isabela Moner works the rebellious teenager angle to satisfaction. Supporting actors are fine even if they play obnoxious characters; Margo Martindale and Julie Hagerty are tasked with mopping up stereotypical grandparent characters which they do with some verve, but even they cannot save cardboard cutouts.

Instant Family Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Instant Family is a digitally constructed film that yields a well rounded Blu-ray image. The picture is typical of a contemporary high end Blu-ray, featuring agreeably complex and naturally sharp textures all around. Core skin and clothing details are good, of course, offering naturally complex definition both in intimate close-up and in medium distance shots alike. The film's various environments are all showcases for the BD's top-end clarity. Whether in the Wagner home, the house that Pete is renovating, the foster support group room, a hospital, a fair, an amusement park, or any number of locations, there's plenty to see and absorb, with sharpness that runs corner to corner with no softer spots to be found. Colors are very good with showcase level punch and perfectly dialed-in contrast. Primaries are bright and cheerful across a very wide spectrum of colors, from home furnishing neutrals to more abundant colors at a fair. Skin tones appear accurate and black levels are nice and deep. Light noise appears in some scenes but the picture is otherwise free of any source or encode blemishes. This is a perfectly fine image from Paramount.

Instant Family Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Instant Family's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack delivers a perfectly good listen. The track is inherently uninteresting, presenting a fairly basic array of sound design needs that carry the film. Music is complimentary and clear, playing with good and dominant front-side spacing while surrounds carry a modest support structure and the subwoofer adds just a hint of necessary weight to the proceedings. Support atmospherics are seamlessly integrated, presenting with naturally immersive and precisely positioned points of reference around the listener, whether playful din at a party in chapter seven or light thunder and rain effects in chapter 14. Dialogue drives the majority of the film, and its presentation is without flaw, holding firm in a natural front-center position. Spoken word prioritization never misses a beat.

Instant Family Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Instant Family contains a rather large collection of extras, including a commentary track, featurettes, a gag reel, a music video, and deleted and extended scenes. A DVD copy of the film is included with purchase, as is a digital copy code. The release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director/Writer Sean Anders and Writer John Morris offer an in-depth breakdown of the story that inspired the movie as well as numerous details of the shoot, including casting, film assemblage, the real foster system, editing, performances, and more.
• Mr. and Mrs. Fix-It (1080p, 4:11): A look at the story's origins in Anders' own experiences as well as basic plot dynamics.
• Kid Power (1080p, 9:08): A closer look at the three child stars in the film, including audition footage and the characteristics each brings to the movie.
• I Need Some Support (1080p, 5:17): A look at the "archetype couples" who are in the Wagner's support group. It also looks at Octavia Spencer's and Tig Notaro's characters.
• Order in the Court (1080p, 3:53): Making the movie's happy ending scene in court.
• The Families Behind the Fair (1080p, 9:14): Casting adoptive families in support pieces during a fair sequence early in the film.
• Crew Inspiration (1080p, 4:59): The contributions of a real foster child who is similar to Lizzy's character in the film.
• The Anders Family (1080p, 7:05): A brief look into the real-life story of the film's director and his own family and its reflection in the film.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:09): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:35): "I'll Stay" by Isabela Moner.
• On Set Proposal (1080p, 2:35): Justin Dec proposes to his girlfriend on the set.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (1080p, 10:11 total runtime): Included are First Family Dinner, First Day of School, Pete's Got Problems, I Like Her - Extended, and I Love the Black. With optional introduction by Director/Writer Sean Anders and Writer John Morris.

Instant Family Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This reviewer is a big softy, but even Instant Family proved too manipulative and manufactured to get even my easily won over heart on board. It's stale, predictable, safe, and absent any real genuine spirit. Any heart and tenderness that materializes is quickly crushed under the weight of extreme plot manipulation and empty and predictable narrative constructs. The characters are wholly uninteresting and the actors can do little to shape them beyond the cardboard constructions. The Blu-ray does offer very good video and audio presentations along with a healthy allotment of bonus goodies. Fans should not hesitate to buy; this is a good technical package from Paramount.