"The Talent Given Us" is a disarming film done cinema-verite style where the Wagner family is shown candidly as they embark in a voyage of discovery when they travel cross country trying to visit their son Andy, a screen writer living in Los Angeles.
The Wagners are an outspoken New York City family who tell it all to the camera in a disarming way. The patriarch, Allen, is afflicted with an undisclosed neurological illness that has made him weak and must be careful walking, as he might fall easily. Judy, the mother, is a woman full of life, who seems to be a fun person to know because she is a no nonsense woman.
We meet also the two daughters, Maggie and Emily. The funny part of the story is that we see Emily arriving from L.A. at the beginning of the movie. Judy, the concerned mother who has been trying unsuccessfully to contact Andrew, suddenly has the urge to keep going west to see what's wrong with her son. Along the way, we get to know more of the Wagners, as we feel we are in the car with them, going for the ride.
The trip seems to bring the Wagners closer together. Allen and Judy seem to find peace as they start the return journey home. Emily seems also to have encountered harmony and Bumpy, the friend that comes along for the ride, is also more adjusted to accept her life. And Andy? Well, let that be a surprise to you, as it was to us.
This is a charming film made possible by the generous Wagner family.