Michelle (Emma Roberts) and Allen (Luke Bracey) have, sort of, reached the point in their relationship to take the next steps toward marriage. Thinking it is a good idea to invite their parents, namely Grace (Diane Keaton), Howard (Richard Gere), Monica (Susan Sarandon) and Sam (William H. Macy), to finally meet, they set a dinner and make it a family affair. To everyone's surprise, the affair takes on a whole new meaning as the parents already know each other all too well--they've been cheating on their spouses for months...with each other. Trapped in this precarious predicament, they try to hide their dalliances from the kids while confronting their spouses' lovers head on. Let the games begin!
Others to round out the cast are Gina Jun as Michelle's friend, Natalie Ortega as Sofia and Kevin D. Benton as wedding guest.
This was stiffly directed by Michael Jacobs. He has written a fair amount of work--mostly TV, but he has never directed before--feature films, TV, shorts, etc. Even though he had very seasoned, talented actors to work with, his staging, pacing and areas of forced lines were evident. Surely I realize that a filmmaker has to start somewhere when branching out into an untapped arena, but he should seriously start with TV or maybe a short or two. This certainly proves that he's definitely not ready for prime time. This was also written by Michael Jacobs ("Cheaters" (TV movie) '80, "First Family"(TV movie) '93) plus other TV. Even though the premise has an interesting twist to it, I'm not sure if the writing was so clumsy as it seemed, or was the directing so questionable that it made the writing suspect. There were too many continuity issues as well as a fair amount of choppiness in the script. This being his first feature film probably has a lot to do with his seemingly being in over his head. With his writing experience, I feel that if he just receives more work, he will find his niche as a feature screenwriter. I suppose this film is an expose of the fact that screenwriting is definitely different than playwriting since this film was based on Jacobs' play. Certainly having the star power that this certainly has helps with this project, but I can't help but think that Hollywood should've gone with a more seasoned director.
If you like the different stars in this film, you'll revel, however if you're searching for a meatier script, you may want to pass on this, and maybe rent it or view it on Netflix. The one positive aspect of this film is that when anyone does something such as cheating, the consequences certainly will follow. To quote a bible verse that's indicative in this would be, "Your sin will be shouted on the rooftops". Of course, since it is a romcom, how meaty of a screenplay would you be expecting? Just saying.
Out of 4 Stars: 2 Rated: PG-13 95mins.
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