Our Favorite Families in Film Revisited
When we think of family films, we tend to think of the kind of viewing that’s suitable for people of all ages. However, today we’re going to be talking about films with families at the center of them. Whether that’s a dysfunctional family that we just can’t take our eyes off, a loving family that we can’t help but adore, or an unconventional family that just seems to make it work somehow.
All the different types of family dynamics will be explored in our countdown of our favorite families in film. To kick things off, we’ve got a family who were so popular that they’ve had seven separate movies about them.
The Griswolds – National Lampoons Vegas Vacation (1997)
The Griswolds are the first family that we’re going to talk about, a hilariously dysfunctional family that clearly has a deep affection for one another. There have been many adventures that they’ve gone on together, but our favorite is their vacation to Vegas.
Clark and Ellen, the father and mother of the family have decided that after a win at work, they’re going to renew their vows in Vegas. They take the kids along with them, Audrey and Rusty, played by Marisol Nichols and Ethan Embry respectively. The family have a couple of misadventures initially, including creating a leak in the Hoover Dam whilst on a group tour that everybody somehow manages to laugh off.
After this, singer Wayne Newton personally invites Ellen to his concert and flirts outrageously with her, much to the disgust of the children. Owing to their disastrous start to the holiday, The Griswolds agree to take a day in the city and do their own thing.
This turns out to be where the real fun starts. None of the family have a great deal of luck in the Vegas casinos, except Rusty that is, who takes on the pseudonym Nick Pappagiorgio and becomes a champion at the high-roller tables. He also manages to snag a huge jackpot of four classic cars, the level that might only be seen on hot drops at
https://www.cafecasino.lv/casino/jackpots/hot-drop. The end of the film sees the four members of the family all driving home in the selection of cars. It’s a sweet ending to a hilarious tale, one that we can’t get enough of.
The Whitmans – The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Wes Anderson is a master of unraveling and portraying complicated families on screen and though Moonrise Kingdom and The Royal Tenenbaums are both fascinating looks at equally fascinating families, we’ve chosen the Darjeeling Limited for the way it deals with the complex matter of families that don’t always see eye to eye. So, next up is a family that begins the movie having almost no love for each other at all, but ends it quite differently.
Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman play three brothers, Peter, Francis, and Jack. They decide to take a long journey across India together, the first time they’ve seen each other since the death of their father. The goal for the journey is spiritual self-discovery, but with the way that they all squabble, it quickly turns sour.
The trio gets thrown off the train for fighting and ends up having to come to terms with their own foibles. After a little hard introspection, the brothers realize that there’s a lot more that they love about one another than dislike and end the film as a much tighter-knit group. This film is not only a heartwarming story, but it’s also shot absolutely beautifully, one that cinephiles will certainly enjoy.
The Bhamras – Bend it Like Beckham (2002)
We thought we could end things with a family dynamic that would be familiar to many of us, a scenario in which everybody wants the best for each other, but they all have different ideas of how to get there. The Bhamras are a Sikh family living in Hounslow in London.
Both parents want nothing more than for their daughter Jesminder to do well in her education and meet a suitable boy who could one day be her husband. Jesminder is more interested in football than school, or indeed boys, and clearly has a wild talent for the game.
She regularly plays with her friend Tony, the boy who her parents have earmarked for her, but little do they know that Tony is actually gay. However, this is the least of their concerns. Mostly they’re worried that Jesminder is going to perform poorly in her exams if she doesn’t take a break from football.
The whole thing comes to a head when her sister Pinky announces that her wedding day is going to be the same day as a key football match which could earn Jesminder a scholarship to a sports college in America. Her parents forbid her to go, but on the day of the match, her father sends her off to play football and is delighted when she says it goes well. We won’t ruin the ending for you completely, but this heartwarming tale of learning to let your children find their own path is a true masterpiece.
