Parents' Guide to Love the Coopers

This entry in the "dysfunctional family reunion" subgenre is surprisingly unfunny and -- with the exception of a few sweet moments -- a waste of the ensemble cast's considerable talents. The entire film looks so dark and grim that audiences may wonder whether they're watching it through a washed-out filter. It's that unsettling. And most of the characters' ages don't make any sense. Keaton and Tomei have a 20-year age difference but play sisters (not impossible, but unlikely!), and Arkin is only a decade older than Keaton. He'd be more believable as Keaton's husband than her dad. On top of the obvious age discrepancies, the movie suffers from a predictable, plodding script and remarkably unlikable characters.

Wilde gets a lot of screen time as Eleanor, a writer who's sick of Charlotte wondering when she's going to settle down. At the airport bar, Eleanor meets a handsome soldier (Jake Lacey) with whom she shares an instant attraction. They end up pretending they're together so Eleanor can get through the night with her parents. There are many other subplots, including a vaguely romantic connection between Ruby and Bucky, who goes to the diner daily just to talk to her, and a strange police-car dialogue between Emma and the cop who arrests her (Anthony Mackie). But it never adds up to anything meaningful. It's a shame that a movie with so many memorable actors could fall so flat.