The Parenting
Meeting the parents can be hell
Meeting the family is a horror show in The Parenting
Couple Rohan and Josh (Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn) are totally in love. They’re already thinking about the future together and are thrilled to take the next steps. One of those steps is having their parents meet for the first time.
For some insane reason, they decide the best way to introduce their wildly eccentric parents is via a weekend stay at a remote Airbnb. Trapping a bunch of feisty people in the woods together wouldn’t have been my choice, but I suppose they wanted to jump in with both feet.
Rohan’s parents are Sharon and Frank (Edie Falco and Brian Cox). They adopted Rohan and are extremely protective of their son and overbearing when it comes to his life choices. They see Josh as an unserious person who is using their baby for a stable home.
Josh’s parents are Liddy and Cliff (Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris). Liddy is an oddball surrounded by various rescued Yorkies, and Cliff is a no-nonsense blue-collar type. Both of them immediately hate Rohan’s parents and believe Josh will have trouble with them.
An already disastrous weekend gets worse, however, when a 400-year-old demon is unleashed by the Airbnb host (Parker Posey). When it possesses him, all hell breaks loose — literally.
Can Rohan and Josh’s relationship survive their parents? And who has time to plan a wedding and an exorcism?
The Parenting isn’t anything you haven’t seen before. It’s essentially at the level of the Scary Movie franchise. There are lots of gross-out jokes, some very silly plotting, and a great deal of ridiculous behavior. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, it’s a fun romp.
The main reason the film works so well is the ensemble. It’s got a huge collection of brilliant actors to prevail upon, and each has a moment. It’s nice to see “serious” actors Cox and Falco get a chance to flex their comic chops. Cox, in particular, seems to relish his role as the demonic Frank. He snarls, vomits, and even drops trou for this scene-stealing role.
Kudrow and Norris are more familiar to audiences in a comedic realm, but they bring their A-game as well. Kudrow is delightfully daffy as Liddy, nursing decrepit Yorkies and casually swearing. Norris is a growling, beer-swilling dad type that would be at home in any primetime sitcom.
But the real reason The Parenting is worth a look is a positively insane turn by Posey. She plays a sort of valley girl occultist, and the result is sheer hilarity. She vamps and shrieks through each scene, effortlessly snatching the movie from everyone else on screen. If the movie had just been her story, it’d easily be one of my favorites of the year.
The Parenting is a lesson in how good actors can salvage middling material. There’s nothing special in the bones or plot of The Parenting, but Parker Posey is certainly something to behold.
Verdict: A great ensemble saves this silly exorcism comedy
The Parenting is rated R and is available March 13 on Max
