Imagine you grow up in a family where you have to do something that normal families would never do. This is where the term of dysfunctional family comes from. After seeing Jason Bateman’s THE FAMILY FANG you will realize what kind of family you don’t want to have: a family that takes your childhood away and raises you in a way that you would never know what real family value means.
Annie (Nicole Kidman) and Buster Fang (Jason Bateman) are already grown up. She became a famous actress, and he is more or less, a successful writer. After not seeing each other for a long time, the siblings must reunite in search of their famous parents, Caleb (Christopher Walken) and Camille Fang. But when the movie begins, we at first find them in a much younger age, where the Fang Family tries to recreate a bank robbery in order to create an art. And from that moment on, whatever will seem strange to you will be called as ‘art’ for our heroes.
As the film progresses you will get a chance to know a bit more Annie and Buster’s childhood which will make you wonder how they did not become serial killers in a funny way, perhaps? But as we all know nothing usually lasts forever, not even love to create an art for the Fang Family as Annie is about to put the abnormal life behind and finally start living a normal life. But the question is, how will she do that if the sudden disappearance of her parents shakes her already unstable life?
Jason Bateman thankfully does not create another BAD WORDS, which was impossible to watch. The Family Fang is a cleverly written movie, with some life lessons, and the right balance of humor and drama. Christopher Walken as Caleb is simply hilarious, while the rest of the cast could have delivered a better performance. Even though Nicole Kidman, in some scenes, delivers what’s quite unusual for her performance, you will still feel that she does not do enough to portray Annie Fang the way you could have pictured her. But overall, there is not much to complain about The Family Fang as it’s quite enjoyable, funny movie about a dysfunctional family who will try to find a way to escape the life that no longer is relevant for some of them.