Families in the media have been portrayed as ideal, like the Cleaver family in Leave it to Beaver. This was always used as an example of what a perfect family looks like and what everyone strived to have. However, in recent years, this has become more of a stereotype and less of a dream as the “perfect family” is seemingly unachievable. Family dysfunction has become more and more popular in the media as audiences grow more fond of realism than idealistic perfection.
The expression “you can’t choose your family” derives from the fact that, more often than not, family members do not get along. Whether its mental illness, differences in core values, or simply different personalities, many families must overcome a number of obstacles to remain whole. Depictions of dysfunctional families in the media have become more and more common as the audience craves a realistic portrayal of family. These are the best movies about dysfunctional families.
8 Home Alone
In the holiday classic Home Alone, the large McAllister family, including aunts, uncles, and cousins, are going on a trip to Paris to visit even more family members that live there. Not only is the family huge, but they bicker constantly and most of them pick on Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) for being an attention-seeker. When Kevin gets left behind for Christmas, despite their differences, his mother (Catherin O'Hara) does everything possible to return home to him as soon as she can, while Kevin is left to deal with the criminals trying to burgle his house. At the end of the film, it’s not just his mother that returns home, but his father and siblings as well, all of whom are surprised to see that he managed to be okay on his own, despite his young age.
7 Silver Linings Playbook
In Silver Linings Playbook, Pat (Bradley Cooper) returns home after his release from a psychiatric hospital after beating up the man cheating with his wife. Despite her infidelity and their resulting divorce, Pat is obsessed with getting back with his wife while his parents’ obsession rests on the Philadelphia Eagles. Staying with his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver), Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who offers to help him get back with his wife, fueling his obsession further but also making him realize something he didn’t see before. Pat’s parents struggle to deal with Pat’s mental illness, including some outbursts related to his obsession with his ex-wife, despite this, they still support him no matter what.
6 Raising Arizona
When incompetent criminal Hi McDunnough and former policewoman Ed get married, they discover the unfortunate news that they are infertile. To ease his wife’s wish to have a child, Hi steals a child from a set of quintuplets. All Hell breaks loose when the child’s real father sends a bounty hunter after the thief. Directed by the Coen Brothers, Raising Arizona is the ideal story of family dysfunction as an unlikely couple goes to any means necessary to fulfill their wish to make their family whole. Starring Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter as the McDunnoughs, their unusual chemistry brings to light part of their dysfunction as they both operated on opposite sides of the law.
5 August: Osage County
Following the death of their father, sisters Karen, Barbara, and Ivy return home for his funeral and are forced to deal with their pill-popping cancer patient mother Violet. August: Osage County stars Hollywood icons, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. The film revolves around the mother-daughter relationships as their matriarch Violet hurls venomous truths at them without caring how it will affect their relationship. The sisters unite to deal with their mother as a whole, with the help of their spouses and other kin they may have.
4 Meet the Fockers
Meet the Fockers is the hilarious sequel to Meet the Parents. After getting engaged, Pam and Greg (Teri Polo and Ben Stiller, respectively) decide to visit Greg’s parents (Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand) at their home, bringing Pam’s parents (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) with them. The juxtaposed couples bump heads as Greg’s sex therapist mother Rozalin and his hippie father Bernie live very different lives to former CIA agent Jack and his wife Dina. As the in-laws mingle, Greg and Pam see that their oppositional views won’t lead to them being one big happy family. That said, when the news comes out that Pam is pregnant, the family puts their differences aside and comes together so that Greg and Pam can unite and build a family of their own.
3 Ready or Not
This comedy horror film brings out the worst in the family. When Grace marries Alex Le Domas, on their wedding night, she is forced to pick a card from the box and must play whatever game is on the card for her to become an official part of the family. But when “Hide and Seek” is the game, the family is forced to hunt Grace down and kill her in order for their family to remain alive and prosperous. Alex’s family plays the game with many screw-ups that lead to two maids being killed by Alex’s drugged-up sister Emilie while his brother Daniel lets Grace escape. The Le Domas family in Ready or Not is the personification of the phrase “the in-laws from Hell.''
2 The Royal Tenenbaums
Considered one of Wes Anderson’s best films, 2001's hit The Royal Tenenbaums follows the lives of the Tenenbaums when they are told that their neglectful selfish father, Royal, is dying from cancer. After decades of failure and betrayal adopted artistic Margot, former tennis champ Richie and the overly cautious Chas all stay with their mother Etheline in the hopes of gaining some stability in their lives after losing their former glory as extraordinary genius children. Etheline decides to let Royal be a part of the family and try to redeem himself. Richie pines after his adoptive sister Margot who has taken a break from her marriage to Raleigh while Chas remembers his wife who died in a plane crash and runs drills with his children to prepare them for any disaster. The Royal Tenenbaums is a realistic look at a dysfunctional family that many may find relatable.
1 Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine follows the story of the Hoover family. Wannabe Pageant Queen Olive, her optionally mute half-brother Dwayne, her drug-addict Grandpa, her suicidal Uncle Frank, and her constantly arguing parents. When Olive gets a call that she is able to attend the Little Miss Sunshine competition in California, the family joins together on a road trip to support Olive’s dream. With everyone at each other’s throats constantly, they somehow manage to put everything aside for the sake of Olive. On the road, they face many hardships, including the bus falling apart and the death of Olive’s Grandfather, but none of these things stop Olive and her family from getting to the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant.