Butler's Cinema Scene

Bryn Vale, Taylor Schilling

“FAMILY” My rating: C 

85 minutes | MPAA rating: R

A misanthropic adult gets saddled with a troubled kid. Against all odds they teach each other to love.

That stock plot has been resurrected to no particular payoff with Laura Steinel’s “Family,” a film neither funny enough or empathetic enough to leave a lasting impression.

Kate (“Orange is the New Black’s” Taylor Schilling) is, to put it bluntly, a miserable excuse for a human being. She’s blunt to the point of cruelty, indifferent to others’ feelings, and fiercely competitive.  She lives for her job at a hedge fund and hasn’t had a true relationship with another person for years.

And then the kid-hating workaholic finds herself babysitting her niece Maddie (Bryn Vale), a moody, unhappy kid trying to cope with her outsider status.  Maddie’s parents leave Kate with instructions to not only care for their daughter for a couple of days, but to buy her a prom dress and see that she goes to the big dance.

Kate McKinnon

Before it’s over the two will be neck deep in a “juggalo” festival populated by the face-painted fans of the musical group Insane Clown Posse.

Peripheral characters include an uptight suburban neighbor (Kate McKinnon) with whom the rude Kate crosses verbal swords, and Maddie’s karate instructor (Brian Tyree Henry), a nice guy who gets sucked into the aunt/niece dynamic.

“Family” has a couple of laughs on the way to a predictable conclusion; interestingly enough it’s the supporting characters who elicited most of my sympathy.

| Robert W. Butler