![]() But “Instant Family” isn’t a hellish movie, although it is very much a Hollywood one. The film is produced by two-time Emmy® winner Marc Platt (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” “Grease Live!”), Miranda, two-time Emmy winner John DeLuca (“Tony Bennett: An American Classic”), and Rob Marshall, with Jeffrey Silver (“The Lion King”) serving as executive producer.Here is where I might make the usual comment about those good intentions. The songs feature music from multiple Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”) and lyrics by Howard Ashman, and new lyrics by three-time Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda. “The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar® nominee Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Mary Poppins Returns”)with a screenplay by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”). The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (“grown-ish”) as Ariel Jonah Hauer-King (“A Dog’s Way Home”) as Prince Eric Tony Award® winner Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton”) as the voice of Sebastian Awkwafina (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as the voice of Scuttle Jacob Tremblay (“Luca”) as the voice of Flounder Noma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns”) as Queen Selina Art Malik (“Homeland”) as Sir Grimsby with Oscar® winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”) as King Triton and two-time Academy Award® nominee Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “Bridesmaids”) as Ursula. ![]() She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. ![]() “The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. Instant Family is instantly gratifying even if, some time later, you might not remember a lot about what you laughed so hard at, but the heart of the movie, the emotional journey and narrative around fostering and adoption will stick like glue. Maybe it’s the aforementioned chemistry, or perhaps this is one of those projects he especially cares about for personal reasons, but it seems like this is one of his cinematic happy places. While Wahlberg can sometimes come off as a touch mechanical or trying to pull of crowd-pleasing by-the-numbers performance in comedic roles, here, he seems more at ease and relaxed. Obviously, because it’s a studio comedy about family, but Instant Family isn’t just a stream of slapstick or dramatic set pieces stuck together with a sugary narrative and life lessons – some of those are in there but it's greater than the sum of its parts. If someone cast them together in a buddy comedy, I’d be first in line to see it. ![]() Together they are absolute dynamite, and they provide Instant Family with some of its biggest laughs and brightest moments. Play Also, whoever came up with the idea of casting Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro as two of the social workers that guide the parents-to-be through the foster care process deserves a raise. For someone who hasn’t been doing this for that long at all, whatever ‘it’ is, she’s got it. In the last few years, she’s gone from Nickelodeon to big money action franchises, drama, and comedy, pulling something engaging out of the bag each time like it isn’t a big deal. Moner's got some razor sharp skills and some impressive nuances and naturality in her performances that make her utterly convincing ensuring she pops whenever she’s on screen. ![]() We know Wahlberg and Byrne can do comedy, and they bring their usual solid game again, but it’s actually Moner who really is the gold in the hills here. While Wahlberg and Anders’ rhythms are already synched, as well as Moner to an extent as she starred in Transformers: The Last Knight with Wahlberg, there’s a lot here that could come off as twee and hackneyed if it had been mishandled. Instant Family is inspired by real events from the life of writer/director Sean Anders, and that’s probably a significant factor in why this works so effortlessly. They’re looking to take on one child but meet three siblings, including a rebellious 15-year-old girl, played by Isabela Moner. Pete, played by Wahlberg, and Ellie, played by Rose Byrne, are a couple who decide they want to start a family, However, rather than making a baby themselves, they stumble into the world of foster care adoption. ![]()
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