Movie Review: Parental Guidance (2012) seen in theatres, on DVD and on multiple streaming platforms

Comedy; some scenes may be unsuitable for young children; language and mature themes

This movie follows an elderly couple named Artie and Diane, (played by Billy Crystal and Bette Midler respectively,) who attempt to reconnect with their three grandchildren whom they have not seen in years when they are tasked to babysit them while the parents go away.

The movie opens with Artie doing play by play for a baseball game as he is an announcer. When the game ends, he is fired by his boss who claims he is too old fashioned and not into the current era of social media and facebook ETC and therefore no longer qualifies for the job. As he had been working there for most of his life, this sends him into a depression.

He arrives home and informs his wife Diane, (which is not seen on screen,) however she can be heard attempting to console him. When Artie states his intention to keep working, Diane gives him suggestions that he could maybe teach young people about the sport, which he says he’s not interested in.

Meanwhile, the couple’s adult daughter calls them and asks them to watch their three children when the husband learns he is supposed to receive an award for his latest invention and wants his wife there with him when he receives it.

As Artie is still recovering from being fired, he voices his opinion that he does not want to attend citing that he is not in the right frame of mind. Diane however, is excited and jumps at the ofer which forces Artie to annoyingly accept.

At dinner that night, the parents inform the couple of the rules they must follow, (no sugar, etc,) as well as telling them to take it easy on them and never say no as doing so would damage the children’s self esteem.

The next morning, the children fight with their parents as they attempt to leave for the trip. When they finally leave the house, Artie and Diane struggle to make the children breakfast as well as their school lunches. As they leave the house, the mother appears stating she had to stay back due to a work emergency and that she will catch a later flight. However, Diane is insulted by this and sees it as an excuse for them not to be left alone with the children as she doesn’t trust them.

As the day progresses, it begins to appear to the mother as if the children cannot be left alone with their grandparents as Artie had disobeyed two of the rules she set in her absence; not to let them eat sugar, which he violates when he allows them to eat cake and not to allow the children to watch scary movies.

Eventually, after being forced to leave by Diane, the mother eventually does where Artie and Diane are tasked with watching the children. During the course of their stay, they unintentionally break rules which were set by the parents although their only intention is to make them happy. For example, their one daughter is tasked to play the violin which her parents expect that she will do good at therefore she needs practice. As the parents expect her to perfect the violin, she devotes all of her time to practicing and thus makes no time for herself to be with her friends. After criticism from her violin teacher, Diane allows her to get dressed up in a dress and attend a party the night before she is to perform despite her parents telling her she isn’t allowed to attend.

The parents eventually return home when they see a news story of their youngest son getting hurt while Artie is with him on a job interview.

They get back home to find the daughter in the dress and about to leave for the party, where the parents immediately point the fingers at Artie and Diane. When the daughter talks back to the mother as she has now sided with Diane, the mother sarcastically thanks her parents claiming they couldn’t have gotten through the week without them.

The rest of this movie is Artie and Diane attempting to win back the respect of their daughter and be more involved in their grandchildren’s lives.

In my mind, grandparents were never a number one priority to me and I never felt like I had any. I mean, my grandparents were never there for me as much as Artie and Diane want to be with their grandchildren in this movie. It really goes to show the determination Diane has to be a good grandmother to her grandchildren and though he was sort of opposed for the first half of the movie due to his situation, I feel like Artie really came around and showed his love for his grandchildren as well.

I’m going to provide a spoiler alert…..by the end of this movie Artie and Diane have indeed regained the trust of their daughter and have earned their pictures on the fireplace mantel, (as shown in the credits,) when they help each child individually with their own problems; the one son with a stuttering problem, the youngest son conquer his imaginary friend and be able to let him go as he is killed in the movie, (in a comedic scene,) and helping their young granddaughter realize that it’s ok to have dreams but she can also have her own life as well. I think the parents’ biggest problem in this movie is their desire to see their daughter succeed after finding something she is passionate about doing. They may have expected a little too much of her though and this was where the problem was. Artie and Diane helped them realize this and by the end of the movie, their relationship with their daughter is stronger.

I would definitely recommend this movie

Movie rating: 10 out of 10