MOVIES
INSTANT
FAMILY (PG)
AVAILABLE FROM MAY 1
Over the past nearly-20
years, Australian actress
Rose Byrne has established
a fabulous career for herself
internationally; adept at
drama and comedy alike,
she has become a much-
loved screen icon.
In Instant Family, she
and Mark Wahlberg (both
pictured) – another actor who
straddles both genres – play
Ellie and Pete, a well-to-do
couple who buy houses to
revamp and then sell on.
A niggling suspicion that
their life would be enriched
by children leads them to
explore adoption through
an agency headed by
Karen (Octavia Spencer)
and Sharon (Tig Notaro),
an occasionally odd yet
well-matched pair. At an
adoption fair, they’re drawn
to not just one child, but
a troubled trio – 16-year-old
Lizzy (Isabela Moner), her
younger brother Juan
(Gustavo Quiroz) and little
sister Lita (Julianna Gamiz)
- whose mother, a drug
addict, is incapable of
looking after them.
Pete and Ellie dive in
heart-first and embrace their
new brood, intent on doing
the right thing without really
anticipating the challenges
ahead. Each
of their charges
has issues, not
least Lizzy, who
is desperate to
be reunited with
her birth mother.
Instant Family
is the work of
Sean Anders
(Daddy’s Home),
who co-wrote and
directed, basing
the film on his own
experiences as an
adoptive parent, so
it’s a comedy blended
with a healthy dose
of reality.
What’s charming and
moving about this feel-
good film is there are no
really dreadful characters;
the kids, while they have
their problems, are still
a lovable bunch. Wahlberg
and Byrne anchor the movie
beautifully and Moner is just
terrific as the troubled Lizzy.
I have to admit to
shedding a tear watching
this, particularly towards
the end. It may not be an
Oscar contender but
Instant Family is just
a lovely, heartfelt film.
It’s perfect for the whole
family, nuclear or blended.
- Margaret Pomeranz
From the cinema to Foxtel Store, rent these movies now, including the top pick from film critic MARGARET POMERANZ
TOP
PICK
MARGARET’S
34 Foxtel MAY