Instant Family (2018)

A couple find themselves in over their heads when they foster three children.

Director:

Sean Anders

Writers:

Sean Anders, John Morris

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Merced

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Wahlberg	...	Pete
Rose Byrne	...	Ellie
Isabela Merced	...	Lizzy (as Isabela Moner)
Gustavo Escobar	...	Juan (as Gustavo Quiroz)
Julianna Gamiz	...	Lita
Octavia Spencer	...	Karen
Tig Notaro	...	Sharon
Tom Segura	...	Russ
Allyn Rachel	...	Kim
Britt Rentschler	...	Linda (as Brittney Rentschler)
Jody Thompson	...	Jim
Margo Martindale	...	Grandma Sandy
Julie Hagerty	...	Jan
Michael O'Keefe	...	Jerry
Joan Cusack	...	Mrs. Howard

Storyline

Married couple Pete and Ellie Wagner, feeling a void in the marriage, visit a foster care center. Two social workers, Karen and Sharon, guide the hopeful parents on the steps to getting into becoming adoptive parents. The couples are brought to a fair where they have the chance to go up to kids that they are interested in adopting. Pete and Ellie walk by the teenagers, although Ellie shows hesitance over raising a teen, but one of the teens, Lizzie, informs Ellie that they all know no one wants to adopt the teens. Pete and Ellie talk to Karen and Sharon over potentially taking in Lizzie. The social workers inform the couple that Lizzie's mother is a drug addict who is currently in jail, and she set their home on fire because she left the crack pipe lit. It also turns out that Lizzie has two younger siblings, Juan and Lita. Although this seems like more of a challenge for Pete and Ellie, they agree to meet the siblings. Pete and Ellie have Thanksgiving dinner with Ellie's family, where...

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Plot Keywords:

foster parent | adoption | parenting | childless couple | adoptive family | 

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Taglines:

Just add chaos laughter awkwardness mistakes love.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual material, language and some drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was inspired by writer/director Sean Anders' experience adopting through Seneca Family of Agencies' Kinship Center.

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Goofs

When Pete is looking at the foster children website, most siblings appear together, but Juan, Lita, and Lizzy don't. Only Juan is shown on the website.

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Quotes

Lizzy: PRETEND MOM!

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Crazy Credits

Photos of real life foster families are seen throughout the end credits, interspersed with footage of Isabela Moner performing the end credits song, 'Stay with you'.

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Alternate Versions

For the film's Australian release, the distributor chose to remove a single use of strong language in order to obtain a PG classification. This edited version of the film was later used for its DVD/Video release. An uncut M classification was available.

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Connections

References Avatar (2009)

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Soundtracks

Emergency
Written by Gianfranco Bortolotti, Luca Lauri, Ricky Reed (as Eric Frederic), Teddy Geiger, Caroline Hjelt, Aino Jawo, Diego Leoni, Erik Hassle, Tom Peyton and Antonio Puntillo
Performed by Icona Pop
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

A real crowd-pleaser, for better or worse.

'Instant Family' is definitely predictable and clichéd every step of the way, but that doesn't really matter when it's done this successfully. Its engaging throughout and offers a fun and heartwarming look at adoption and families in general, leading to a very entertaining experience. For better or worse, though, it's certainly a crowd-pleaser, which means that although it's sure to give audiences a good time, it's all surface level and some of the dark, culturally important themes are brushed over in service of keeping things light and friendly. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but, had it scratched below the surface more often, it could have been a far richer, more affecting piece overall. The other thing is that the film certainly works better as a family-drama than a comedy, yet it tries to do both which sometimes isn't too successful. There are several 'funny bits' that generate from the characters and situations which work fine, but it's the forced humour (the improvisational kind of jokes that Anders is used to working with) that don't really fit. Overall though, 'Instant Family' is highly entertaining throughout and offers some heartwarming scenes, despite how generic and surface-level it is. 7/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

16 November 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Instant Family

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$48,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,504,315, 18 November 2018

Gross USA:

$67,363,237

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$120,556,201

Company Credits

Production Co:

Closest to the Hole Productions, Leverage Entertainment, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1