A former top assassin living incognito as a suburban dad must take his unsuspecting family on the run when his past catches up to him.
Chuck says:
Take the premise from “True Lies” and expand it to include a deceived family rather than just a wife left in the dark and you have “The Family Plan,” an unexpectedly fun piece of popcorn entertainment. As directed by television veteran Simon Cellan Jones and written by David Coggeshall, the film moves along at a brisk pace, alternating between mildly comedic moments, muddled action scenes and standard familial drama. And yet, the tone struck by the cast makes the material more than bearable and at times entertaining.
Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg) is a used car salesman who embraces the anonymity that comes from living in a cookie cutter home in the suburbs of Buffalo. He’s a great dad, a caring husband, and a good neighbor. He also loves routine and hates social media. In short, he’s just a regular, mildly uptight guy. But, of course, he has a secret, and it’s a doozy. Seems he was once a government assassin who left that life behind, never bothering to tell his wife, Jessica (Michelle Monaghan) about his past. 18 years later, it all falls apart when an errant picture of Dan is posted on-line and before you know it, his former colleagues are on his tail.
What follows is the road trip phase of the film, as Dan throws Jessica, his petulant teenagers, Nina and Kyle (Zoe Maragaret Colletti and Van Crosby) and toddler son, in the van for an impromptu trip to Las Vegas. They’re surprised and pleased with this impulsive getaway, not knowing they are on the run and Sin City is the destination where Dan will pick up new passports and identities for them all.
While Ciaran Hinds and Maggie Q phone in their performances as Dan’s malevolent father and his former girlfriend, respectively, Wahlberg and Monaghan sell this particular brand of soap, earnest in their approach. You believe they are long-time marrieds, while Coletti and Crosby are equally fine as the teens struggling to find their ways. These four are the glue that hold the film together, their rapport and interactions convincing, each of them likable and sympathetic.
The films biggest problem is the editing of the action sequences, of which there are many. Cut together at a seizure-inducing pace, these scenes are a muddle. And, if you object to the mixture of violence with family fun, this may not be your cup of tea. Still and all, I was never bored with “The Family Plan,” and while it has its faults, I wouldn’t mind spending more time with the Morgans, something I can’t say about every family I meet.
3 Stars
