Written by: John Morris & Sean Anders
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Merced, Margo Martindale, Julie Hagerty
Rating: [4/5]
Choosing to foster or adopt children rather than going the route of having biological children veers so far from the expectation society places on individuals. Especially with the increased prevalence and availability of fertility treatments, no matter how invasive, that increase the chances of women conceiving and carrying their baby to term. It makes a film like Instant Family an experience presenting such an under highlighted path to building a familial unit and with its charming cast and educational approach, it does a splendid job.
Always nagged by family members about whether they will have their own kids, Ellie (Rose Byrne) and Pete (Mark Wahlberg) Wagner look into the possibility of adoption. Learning plenty about the process and the challenges that come with fostering to adopt, they take in a sibling group of three consisting of 15-year-old Lizzie (Isabela Merced), 11-year-old Juan (Gustavo Escobar), and 6-year-old Lita (Julianna Gamiz). As they build a bond with their foster kids, they learn of the birth mother’s efforts to reunify with her kids.
Under the guise of a fun little family comedy, Instant Family mightily surprised me with the way it accurately captures the experience of going through foster care training and the genuine emotions that go through the process. I say this because my wife and I have gone through this process ourselves, and the way this film matches it to a comedic and more despondent degree shows the genuine care brought forth through the narrative. As strange is it may be to say, but this film ultimately served as one of the final motivators to want to fully dive in and become foster parents, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
As Ellie and Pete go through this process and have the siblings in their home, we have the feelings they outwardly show to others and what they display in private between themselves. The moment where they bask in all the praise they receive for choosing to become foster/adoptive parents very much relates to what my wife and I have received when we have shared the news with others, which makes those moments quite funny to see play out. Then we have the moments when they have the children in the house and we feel what the title alludes to in creating an instant family. These two go from navigating as two freely married adults and now they have three kids under their care and we feel this responsibility dwelling on them.
With the highs and lows that comes with taking in kids who persevered through the foster care system, Ellie and Pete encounter the real possibility of every foster parent who hopes to adopt the children they are caring for, which is the biological parents trying to get them back. Reunification sits as the whole purpose of the foster care system and even when Pete and Ellie feel they can provide the best home for these kids, ultimately getting them back to the mother who birthed them. Again, the film does not shy away from the raw feelings that brew up inside our two protagonists as they feel conflicted on this person who caused these children harm potentially getting them under her care again, but as we see through Lizzie’s character, she still very much loves her mother. This film absolutely nails this process, which may cause some of the water works to appear in certain scenes.
Even with all the heavy elements the film delves into, it also has some very fun comedy. Bringing these kids into their lives makes for several moments of growing pains as these two adjust to parenthood. They have their mess-ups and little victories that all come as part of the process. The film’s ultimate success comes from the balancing act of the natural comedy this situation brings in addition to the genuinely sweet and then of course the sad ones. Each piece feels well put together in order to add in the perspective of not only the parents but also the foster kids themselves and how they feel about being in the care of Pete and Ellie and what it would mean for them to return to the birth mother.
Genuinely impressive in how it operates and moves, Instant Family serves a beautiful combination of a touching story but also very educational in its explanation of the foster care process. Watching the film and then going through our training showed this film got so much of it right while also working in telling an entertaining narrative. This movie holds one of my favorite performances by Mark Wahlberg as the man has never felt more human than he does in his portrayal of Pete but Rose Byrne held film as the MVP of this film has her character contends with the reality of her standing in as a foil to the birth mother in the eyes of Lizzie. Byrne had the more difficult task ahead of her but she knocked it out of the park, as she usually does with her comedic performances.
Films with Josh 
