It's embarrassing to watch Tig Notaro, Octavia Spencer, Julie Hagerty, and Joan Cusack struggle to find footing in this abyss.

| Feb 22, 2020

Anders and his wife are parents to three adopted children, and there's a sense of verisimilitude and attention to detail regarding both the joys and the travails of foster care.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 17, 2019

I was surprisingly taken by it.

| Feb 16, 2019

The ending is hardly revolutionary, but there are some satisfying twists along the way and a cast of characters whose fate you find yourself caring about.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 15, 2019

If it can't entirely banish the spectre of 12A-rated blandness from its doorstep, Instant Family retains the obvious appeal of watching basically nice people attempt a fundamentally decent thing for a few hours.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 15, 2019

Moving, endearing and entertaining. This is a far more thoughtful and accomplished family comedy than expected.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 15, 2019

Effective Hallmark sentiment, some terrific darkly humorous banter from Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro's case workers, and a grand lump-in-the-throat finale that salutes foster carers.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 14, 2019

The film is boosted immeasurably by Byrne and Wahlberg, who make a snappily appealing comic pair and bounce off each other well in the film's many fraught parenting moments.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 14, 2019

Sean Anders' film begins bearably; becomes Hollywoodish; ends up as diabetes-grade comedy schmaltz.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 13, 2019

Don't expect any real grit, though: the Hollywood ending slips down as easily as warm chocolate sauce.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 13, 2019

For all its formula, Instant Family is a winning confection, unafraid to go to unexpected dramatic places and elevated by Byrne's gift as a comedy foil and Moner's lively but subtle turn.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 12, 2019

Director Sean Anders...manages to maintain an upbeat tone without wholly glossing over some tricky, painful topics.

| Jan 11, 2019

Instant Family isn't too schmalzy as a feel-good family movie, and it has a certain charm in its earnest appeal to tell a different story.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 26, 2018

There's genuine heart and feeling scattered throughout Instant Family, enough to make one wish it would stick to a consistent tone without being repeatedly undercut with forced gags.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 18, 2018

Instant Family has its heart in the right place within a genre that has set the bar low.

| Nov 18, 2018

The laughs are sometimes silly, but often come as moments of relief that the family has made it through something tough. The emotional scenes - both happy and sad - are genuinely emotional. The dark moments are genuinely dark.

| Nov 16, 2018

The core of the film is so strong, so pure, that any missteps Anders might take with this story don't feel as egregious or as damaging as they have in many of his more unabashedly slapstick endeavors.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 16, 2018

While the pace of Instant Family can be relentless, with the supporting cast and a whole lot of genuine authenticity, Anders hits that sweet-spot of hilarious and heartwarming.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 16, 2018

Add up the ingredients and you get a mostly enjoyable dog-eared formula for escapist entertainment without critical perception.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 16, 2018

This story could have been cloying or it could have been soap opera. But Anders and his cast make it into a genuinely heartwarming experience.

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 16, 2018