Parental Guidance is a 2012 American family comedy film directed by Andy Fickman, from a screenplay written by Lisa Addario, and Joe Syracuse. It stars Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, and Tom Everett Scott, and follows a couple who are asked to look after their grandchildren by their skeptical daughter, while she and her husband are out of town. This was the final 20th Century Fox film to be financed by Dune Entertainment as part of a deal with the studio; shortly after, the company merged with RatPac Entertainment and struck a financing deal with Warner Bros. It was theatrically released on December 25, 2012, to negative reviews from critics but was a commercial success, grossing $119.8 million from a $25 million budget.

Plot

Artie Decker, a sports commentator for the minor league Fresno Grizzlies, is fired due to his old-fashioned personality and lack of social media savvy. After telling his wife, Diane, the news, they get a call from their daughter, Alice, and son-in-law, Phil, asking them to come to Atlanta to babysit their three children, Harper, Turner, and Barker, while they attend an entrepreneur convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Problems arise as Artie and Diane's laidback personalities collide with Phil and Alice's helicopter parenting. After learning of their grandchildren's various problems, such as Harper's "high achievement syndrome", Turner's stutter, and Barker's imaginary friend, Carl the Kangaroo, Artie and Diane try to bond with them. As soon as Artie and Diane arrive, everyone is happy to see them. They give gifts to the kids including water guns and bobble heads. Later that night, everyone goes to the fictional Chinese restaurant, Healthy Tiger for dinner. Barker calls Artie Fartie. Artie shows Barker the proper way to eat Chinese food which is to mix everything together. But all that does is anger Barker and make him call Artie evil Fartie which ends the night in chaos. The next morning, Alice and Phil leave for their trip. Alice returns home early when her boss gives her an assignment to redesign the website for the X Games. Artie uses this to his advantage and arranges an interview for the role of sports commentator. In an attempt to win over his grandchildren, he breaks several of the rules Alice has set for them, such as forbidding them from eating sugary food and watching horror movies. Alice is horrified, but after Diane tells her that she and Artie will never be good grandparents if she doesn't give them the chance to, she leaves to join Phil in Hilton Head. Artie lets Barker skip a playdate to take him to the skate park where his interview is being held. Barker escapes from his supervision, and Tony Hawk nearly runs him over while skateboarding. The incident is later broadcast on the news. Later that day, Diane berates Artie for letting Turner hit his bully after Artie had tried to teach him a lesson about confidence and standing up for himself. Artie has a discussion with him and shows him the Shot Heard 'Round the World event. Meanwhile, Phil and Alice witness the news broadcast of the skatepark incident and return home. The tension comes to a head when Alice discovers Diane has allowed Harper to attend a party the night before a violin recital and Barker claims Carl has been hit and killed by a car. Alice eventually reconciles with Artie and Diane, and, sensing that Harper has lost her passion for music, allows her to withdraw from the recital. Turner takes her place on stage and overcomes his stutter by reciting the commentary from Shot Heard 'Round the World. Afterward, Artie and Diane successfully reconnect with their grandchildren, and Artie takes up a new job as a commentator for an Atlanta Little League Baseball team.

Cast

Billy Crystal as Artie Decker Bette Midler as Diane Decker, Artie's wife Marisa Tomei as Alice Decker-Simmons, Artie & Diane's daughter Tom Everett Scott as Phil Simmons, Alice's husband and Artie & Diane's son-in-law Bailee Madison as Harper Simmons, Alice & Phil's daughter and Artie & Diane's granddaughter Joshua Rush as Turner Simmons, Alice & Phil's first son and Artie & Diane's grandson Kyle Harrison Breitkopf as Barker Simmons, Alice & Phil's second son and Artie & Diane's grandson Jennifer Crystal Foley as Cassandra Rhoda Griffis as Dr. Schveer Gedde Watanabe as Mr. Cheng Tony Hawk as himself Steve Levy as himself Linda Cohn as herself

Release

The film was released Christmas Day 2012, in the United States and Canada and on Boxing Day 2012, in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Its international release spans from December 19, 2012, to July 11, 2013, with the first 2013 release on January 3, 2013, in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Singapore.

= Home media

= The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 26, 2013, from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Reception

= Box office

= The film grossed $77.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $42.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $119.8 million. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, the film performed better than expected at the box office. In its opening weekend the film made $14.55 million from 3,367 theaters (a six-day total of $29.3 million), finishing in fourth behind holdover The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and fellow new releases Django Unchained and Les Misérables.

= Critical response

= On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 18% of 92 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Parental Guidance is sweet but milquetoast, an inoffensive trifle that's blandly predictable." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 36 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.

= Accolades

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References

External links

Parental Guidance at IMDb Parental Guidance at Rotten Tomatoes Parental Guidance at Box Office Mojo