The Family Fang (2016)

Directed by Jason Bateman. Starring Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken, Maryann Plunkett, Frank Harts, Harris Yulin, Jason Butler Harner, Kathryn Hahn, Linda Emond, Josh Pais. [R]

Adapted from a novel by Kevin Wilson, this middleweight drama centered on a highly-dysfunctional family dynamic may seem at a glance to be well-worn material (certain characteristics do ring quite familiar for its type), but the specifics are strange enough to almost become unwieldy. The now-grown Fang kids have their professional issues—Bateman’s novelist is struggling with writer’s block, and the career prospects of Kidman’s actress are dwindling fast—but that’s nothing compared to the personal ones they have with their parents, a very dedicated brand of high-minded, chaos-spreading performance artists. The Fang-fam reunion after an, ahem, potato gun incident is anything but blissful, as the old folks remain committed to their “art” and then abruptly disappear for reasons that both offer some genuine surprises and strain credulity. Walken delivers an effective (and effectively off-putting) performance as the devious Fang patriarch. Bateman and Kidman are both credited for co-producing with several others. Premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015.

61/100