Title: The Perfect Family
Director: Anne Renton (‘Love Is Short’)
Starring: Kathleen Turner (‘Peggy Sue Got Married,’ TV’s ‘Friends’), Emily Deschanel and Jason Ritter
People at times can become so caught up in appearing successful in their personal and professional lives to the outside world that they often neglect to strongly evaluate the differences and imperfections plaguing their families. It can take even the most seemingly perfect event that their families’ opinions greatly differ on to force them to truly acknowledge and embrace their relatives’ true personalities. Such is the case with the main character, Eileen Cleary, in first-time feature film director Anne Renton’s new comedy-drama ‘The Perfect Family.’ Eileen begins to change her opinions on all areas of life after learning her family’s modern beliefs don’t always match her more conservative ideals.
‘The Perfect Family’ follows Eileen (played by Kathleen Turner), the ultimate Catholic suburban supermom, as her life becomes even more noteworthy when she’s nominated for the coveted Catholic Woman of the Year Award at her local parish. While Eileen feels like she finally has everything she’s ever wanted, the last test she must pass in order to receive the award is introducing her dysfunctional family to the church board. Eileen must contend with the misgivings about her family that are about to come to light after years of being kept secret.
Eileen must learn to cope with her gay daughter, Shannon (portrayed by Emily Deschanel), preparing to marry her partner and have a child. Her unhappily married son, Frank Jr. (played by Jason Ritter), is having an affair with the local manicurist. Eileen’s husband, Frank (portrayed by Michael McGrady), is a recovering alcoholic, and their marriage is falling apart. When Eileen decides to take action to make her family appear perfect, she begins to question what truly makes a family impeccable-how it looks on the outside, or how it feels on the inside.
The Academy Award-nominated Turner gave another a notable performance as Eileen, providing a great depth and relatability to her character who strived to embody the roles of the ideal mother, wife and community leader. Turner initially portrayed the character as being devoted to her church and taking whatever means necessary to fulfill her obligations as the quintessential woman dedicated to her familial duties. At first, she’s initially hesitant to fully embrace, let alone acknowledge, the life paths her children and husband have decided to embark on.
However, as the events in ‘The Perfect Family’ unfold, Eileen intriguingly begins to mature as she begins to accept the secrets and faults of her family members. Eileen comes to realize that it’s nearly impossible to continuously remain true to the ideals preached in church, and it’s perfectly fine to love people for who they truly are. Eileen proves that anyone can look at their own imperfections and judgments, and realize that differences can actually help unite people. While Eileen has difficulty understanding Shannon’s upcoming marriage to her partner Angela (played by Angelique Cabral), Frank Jr.’s infidelity and Frank Sr.’s continuous dependance on alcohol throughout most of their marriage, she does come to realize and accept that her beliefs don’t mirror her family’s ideals.
Deschanel was also well cast in her role as Shannon, as she naturally exuded the character’s independent thinking and modern beliefs. While she is initially afraid to admit to her mother that she is gay, due to believing that her opinion of her will change, Shannon also learns to overcome her fears and reveal her lifestyle. Shannon comes to serve as the contemporary social mindset of truly being happy with, and accepting, who you are, and standing up for your beliefs. She wasn’t afraid to tell her mother not to be involved in her and Angela’s lives if she couldn’t accept their choices.
‘The Perfect Family’ showcases that everyone can relate to the imperfections and struggles that even the most seemingly flawless families endure. Through a well-cast set of actors, a set of seemingly secure characters questioning their identities and a relatable story about families struggling to connect over their opposing beliefs, Renton’s comedy-drama succeeds in embracing the characters’ differences. The filmmaker achieves her goal of having viewers look at their own imperfections and taking the time to evaluate other people’s views, even if they don’t understand or agree with them.
Technical: B
Acting: B+
Story: B
Overall: B
Written by: Karen Benardello
