The Family Plan (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – 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.

My Take – Right from the mere sight of Mark Wahlberg on the official poster, especially with a baby strapped to his chest, one can guess what to expect from this latest Apple TV+ family comedy, something clearly which harkens back to an easier time, like the 2000s, where features about muscular tough guys thrust into a domestic settings where routinely played for laughs.

This latest feature from director Simon Cellan Jones, known mainly for his TV works like the Dwayne Johnson led Ballers, too asks us to buy into the premise that sees Wahlberg play a suburban husband and dad whose secret past as a government assassin comes back to haunt him in a dutifully formulaic action comedy.

However, despite its straightforward plot with minimal twists and humor, the film manages to present a blend of endearing family dynamics and action-packed sequences, offering moments of genuine warmth and humor.

Appearing to draw inspiration from better films like True Lies (1994) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), the film doesn’t seem interested in breaking any new ground in terms of its narrative, but simply delivering a decently executed content, that is good for a few laughs and some distracting violence but not much else.

Mostly, being a good entertainer for someone looking for something lighthearted and run-of-the-mill.

The story follows Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg), a mild-mannered family man who lives in a cookie-cutter Buffalo planned community with his physical therapist wife Jessica (Michelle Monaghan), high school senior daughter Nina (Zoe Colletti), gamer teen son Kyle (Van Crosby), and late-blessing boy Max (Iliana Norris).

Being an excellent car salesman, Dan is living the American dream, but he has a secret: he was a former special forces solider/ assassin in a mercenary crew covertly used by the US government for deniable operations. Disgusted by the increasingly amoral missions, Dan got out of the violence business with a new identity, met Jessica and is now living his best and blandest life, without anyone in his family knowing about what he used to do for a living.

That is until one day, celebrating his anniversary, his photo ends up online. Determined that his cover has been blown and his ex-associates led by ex-chief named McCaffrey (Ciarán Hinds) have found him, Dan convinces his family to join him on a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Las Vegas, with a secret plan to meet up with a former associate named Augie (Saïd Taghmaoui) and pick up new passports and documents. Along the way reignite sexual flames with his wife and bond with his sullen teenage kids.

The film, penned by David Coggeshall and directed by Simon Cellan Jones, takes great pains to point out that all of us have different versions of ourselves out there. For Jessica, she was a world class athlete before she met Dan, but had to give it up due to injury. When the two got together, they had moved on from their previous lives and settled easily into starting a family.

Dan is also grappling with a variety of issues at home, all of them tailor-made to be corrected by his ensuing adventure. Jessica likes spending every wedding anniversary at the amusement park where they first fell in love but she nonetheless craves more travel and spontaneity, what with them enjoying tacos every Wednesday and sex every Thursday.

Nina has transformed from an outspoken and crusading newspaper reporter into a brat who spouts social justice buzzwords learned from her college boyfriend, whom she wants to follow to school in Iowa, much to Jessica’s displeasure. Kyle, meanwhile, is an antisocial kid who, in defiance of his dad’s orders, plays video games under the alias Kyllboi, and has become an online sensation for his skills.

The script works efficiently and everyone involved sells it hard; there are continuous close up cutaways to that cute and gurgling baby who never cries no matter what happens.

As far as the action goes, it tends to skew more to the comedic side of things, which suits Wahlberg’s acting style. The best moment was probably at the start when he was surprised in the shopping center and had to fight while having a baby strapped to his front. The film finds its footing more in the light-hearted comic situations among family members.

Instances like Dan breaking speed records during a diaper change or when he allows his daughter to meet his boyfriend at the university, inject a delightful energy into the narrative.

Performances wise, Mark Wahlberg delivers a convincing and earnest turn and manages to navigate seamlessly between the roles of a devoted father and a lovable family man with a shadowy past as an elite assassin. Michelle Monaghan delivers a performance true to her seasoned capabilities, injecting charm and charisma into her respective role.

Zoe Colletti and Van Crosby manage to make the most of their roles, sharing a sweet and intentionally awkward chemistry with Wahlberg and Monaghan, creating a believable family dynamic. However, the biggest crime the film does is that wastes the talents of Maggie Q, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Ciarán Hinds, who get meager moments to shine. On the whole, ‘The Family Plan’ is a cheerfully dumb and formulaic family action flick led by a comfortable Mark Wahlberg.