This couple-of-fish-out-of-water premise holds all the usual hijinks one might expect, including the kids’ first introduction to high sugar foods when Fartie (grandpa’s new nickname, heard repeatedly throughout the script) brings home a giant ice cream cake as one of many bribes to keep the boys quiet about a previous indiscretions. 12-year-old Harper (Bailee Madison) is an over-achiever wrestling with a newfound desire to have a social life, Turner (Joshua Rush) is dealing with a bullying issue that aggravates his stuttering speech disorder and little Barker (Harrison Breitkopf) quickly learns that blackmailing Grandpa can be a profitable activity. And in short order other personality traits are revealed that are sure to tax the sitters. Soon even Grandpa regrets the choice after one of the little darlings showers his pants, leaving him with a wet crotch. Raised in a home where words like “no”, “don’t”, and “stop” are banned and political correctness is embraced, Artie’s gift of a trio of water guns is unwelcome by his daughter, who shun violent toys, even though it elicit sequels of delight from the youngsters. Conceding to his wife’s determination to care for the little ones he slaps a smile on his face and heads to Atlanta. Grandpa, on the other hand, is dealing with a sudden job loss and would rather be down in the dumps on his own sofa. But what happens when the parents need to leave for a few days and turn over the reins of family life to grandma and grandpa? A movie script is born…Īrtie and Diane Decker (Billy Crystal and Bette Midler) seldom see their three grandchildren, so when their only child Alice (Marisa Tomei) requests an extended child-sitting favor so she can accompany her husband (Tom Everett Scott) on a business trip, grandma can’t say no. In Parental Guidance that new generation has gained membership in the half-century club and now must deal with their stick-in-the-mud adult children who are busily tied to cell phones while feeding tofu hotdogs and soymilk to the grandkids. When I was a kid movies were made about stick-in-the-mud old people who couldn’t grasp the sensibilities of the new generation.
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