Doug Applegate, Movie Critic

Hey Ridgers, I'm going to play film critic for my turn on the blog. Recently i watched a dark comedy called Family Weekend. It got me thinking about the kind of parent I am. This movie won't be for everyone's taste, but if you are adventurous in your movie watching then go to netflix and you can find it there. I do warn you though, it is a dark comedy. If you are a family that skirts around hot topics like drugs and extra marital affairs then you might find this movie uncomfortable to watch with your kids. So you might want to keep this to an adult only viewing.

Anyways, the reason this movie got me thinking was because of the behavior of the parents. They showed 2 extremes. The dad never imposed any rules and always wanted to be friends with his kids. He was happy go lucky. His attitude was he wanted to do his own thing and he let his kids do what they wanted. A kind of "I won't bother you and you don't bother me" attitude. The mom was driven to succeed in the business world. She wanted to provide for her family but she only wanted to provide financially and materialistically. She didn't invest emotionally or spiritually.

 

The movie reminded me that I want to land in the middle somewhere. I want my kids to be who God created them to be. I wanted to be like the dad in that respect and let them figure out who they are. I also want to be the like the mom and be able to provide for them and show them how to be responsible.

 

Also in the movie, the daughter makes it quite clear what she is looking for. She wants her family to be a family. She wants them to support each other and be involved in each other's lives. But her parents just weren't hearing her. It made me wonder..."am I hearing my kids?"

 

I definitely had some food for thought after watching it. And even though it was a little dark, and ridiculous, I still enjoyed it. And it helped me to focus a little bit more on making my family a top priority.

 

Oh, and if I'm going to be a movie critic, I'll give Family Weekend 3.5 out of 5 stars.

doug applegate

515.205.7070

youth director

the father & son junkyard-where souls are salvaged a ministry of the ridge