An attempt at the family film market which Meet the Parents proved was still highly lucrative with the right concept and stars, this is a half success. It's got a strong central idea - forgotten grandparents look after some kids for a spell and create havoc - plus some likeable stars in Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marissa Tomei. But despite some funny and touching moments it never quite works.
For starters it never seems to get its central concept right - Crystal and Midler are a bit wacky but not that strange and their ideas to raise kids aren't really out there or massively different from Tomei's even if Tomei is a bit PC. The film is reluctant to get too stuck into new methods of parenting - and Crystal has such a nice guy persona there's not much fun in the culture clash involved in his methods, the way that say there was with Robert de Niro. (Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been more fun, for instance because he's more clearly a fish out of water.) So the humour proceeds in fits and starts instead of having a clean line.
And it's not very well directed, with awkwardly staged scenes, or written, with moments thrown together - like the little kid recovering his voice. Having said that, there are great bits - it's like it was doctored by a good writer, but he or she only did bright bits: Tomei complaining about being forgotten while waiting then being forgotten, a late night talk between Crystal and Tomei.
Other debits: Bette Midler is wasted, there is no real villain character (the film needed perfect grandparents say), Tom Everett Scott has nothing to do, there's far too much mugging, Crystal looks really old. But it does have something to say and has a certain charm.
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