Parental Guidance (2012)

Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town for work. Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behavior collides with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.

Director:

Andy Fickman

Writers:

Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse

Stars:

Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Crystal	...	Artie Decker
Bette Midler	...	Diane Decker
Marisa Tomei	...	Alice Simmons
Tom Everett Scott	...	Phil Simmons
Bailee Madison	...	Harper Simmons
Joshua Rush	...	Turner Simmons
Kyle Harrison Breitkopf	...	Barker Simmons
Jennifer Crystal Foley	...	Cassandra
Rhoda Griffis	...	Dr. Schveer
Gedde Watanabe	...	Mr. Cheng
Tony Hawk	...	Himself
Steve Levy	...	Himself
Cade Jones	...	Ivan Halloran
Mavrick Moreno	...	Cody
Madison Lintz	...	Ashley

Storyline

Old school grandfather Artie (Billy Crystal), who is accustomed to calling the shots, meets his match when he and his eager-to-please wife Diane (Bette Midler) agree to babysit their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents (Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott) go away for work. But when 21st century problems collide with Artie and Diane's old school methods of tough rules, lots of love and old-fashioned games, it's learning to bend - and not holding your ground - that binds a family together.

---

Plot Keywords:

helicopter parents | corporal punishment | parental discipline | fired from the job | new technology | 

---

Taglines:

This Christmas it's a battle for the ages

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Us & Them

Filming Locations:

Fresno, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,554,053 (USA) (28 December 2012)

Gross:

$77,264,926 (USA) (17 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Walden Media, Chernin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz polished the final script.

---

Goofs

When Artie is doing play by play for the Braves vs Giants game, he mentions Hudson as the starter for the Braves. When the game is shown on TV it is clearly Derek Lowe who is the pitcher for the Braves.

---

Quotes

[from trailer]
Harper Decker Simmons: [with a mouthful of cake] Yogurt not like ice cream! You lied!

---

Crazy Credits

During the credits, we see pictures of each person listed with their children.

---

Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.194 (2012)

---

Soundtracks

"Book of Love"
Performed by Bette Midler and Billy Crystal

User Reviews

The Vidiot Reviews

Parental Guidance

The most difficult part of being a parent today is getting the Internet to raise your children up to be polite, considerate adults.

Thankfully, there are grandparents around to rear them, as this comedy corroborates.

When overprotective, helicopter parents Alice (Marisa Tomei) and Phil (Tom Everett Scott) desire time alone, they are forced to call Alice's estranged parents, Artie (Billy Crystal) and Diane (Bette Midler), to baby-sit their three kids (Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, Joshua Rush, Bailee Madison).

But battle lines are quickly drawn, when Alice disapproves of the old-school disciplinary methods that her parents employ.

Conversely, Artie feels his daughter's micromanaging is detrimental to her brood's enjoyment of childhood.

Perfectly capturing the hypersensitive disposition of modern parents, this lighthearted look at the parental gap fails when it comes to laughs and chemistry.

Incidentally, this generational disconnect is why no one includes grandparents on their vehicle's stick figure family portrait.

Red Light

vidiotreviews.blogspot.com