Back to trending
Parental Guidance

Parental Guidance

Comedy · 2012

Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town for work. Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behavior collides with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.

Movie details

Parental Guidance

“Here come the grandparents. There go the rules.”

2012 Comedy 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town for work. Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behavior collides with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Parental Guidance?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Three Stooges

The Three Stooges

Comedy · 2012

Left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, three newborn knuckleheads grow up to be finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking janitors named Larry, Curly and Moe. When they learn that financial problems will soon force the only home they've ever known to close, the trio sets out to raise $830,000 in one month. Out in the world for the very first time, the three innocent bumblers become embroiled in a murder plot and find stardom on a TV reality show.

Duplex

Duplex

Comedy · 2003

When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!

The Spy Next Door

The Spy Next Door

Action · 2010

Former CIA spy Bob Ho takes on his toughest assignment to date: looking after his girlfriend's three kids, who haven't exactly warmed to their mom's beau. And when one of the youngsters accidentally downloads a top-secret formula, Bob's longtime nemesis, a Russian terrorist, pays a visit to the family.

Are We Done Yet?

Are We Done Yet?

Family · 2007

Newlyweds Nick and Suzanne decide to move to the suburbs to provide a better life for their two kids. But their idea of a dream home is disturbed by a contractor with a bizarre approach to business.

Problem Child

Problem Child

Comedy · 1990

Ben Healy and his social climbing wife Flo adopt fun-loving seven year old Junior. But they soon discover he's a little monster as he turns a camping trip, a birthday party and even a baseball game into comic nightmares.

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

Comedy · 2010

Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she’s arrived, Nanny discovers that the children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant, Nanny uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons.

Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck

Comedy · 2012

After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Comedy · 1992

Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad's credit card—despite problems from a clerk and meddling bellboy. But when Kevin runs into his old nemeses, the Wet Bandits, he's determined to foil their plans to rob a toy store on Christmas Eve.

Ride Along

Ride Along

Action · 2014

For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben has been trying to show decorated APD detective James that he's more than just a video-game junkie who's unworthy of James' sister, Angela. When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he thinks he's earned the seasoned policeman's respect and asks for his blessing to marry Angela. Knowing that a ride along will demonstrate if Ben has what it takes to take care of his sister, James invites him on a shift designed to scare the hell out of the trainee. But when the wild night leads them to the most notorious criminal in the city, James will find that his new partner's rapid-fire mouth is just as dangerous as the bullets speeding at it.

The War with Grandpa

The War with Grandpa

Comedy · 2020

Peter is thrilled that his Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves into Peter's room, forcing him upstairs into the creepy attic. And though he loves his Grandpa, he wants his room back - so he has no choice but to declare war.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Andy Fickman

Written by

Lisa Addario · Joe Syracuse

Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal

Artie Decker

Bette Midler

Bette Midler

Diane Decker

Marisa Tomei

Marisa Tomei

Alice Simmons

Tom Everett Scott

Tom Everett Scott

Phil Simmons

Bailee Madison

Bailee Madison

Harper Simmons

Joshua Rush

Joshua Rush

Turner Simmons

Kyle Breitkopf

Kyle Breitkopf

Barker Simmons

Court is in session

Put Parental Guidance on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.