Movie Review - Ideal Home

I know that the marketing or advertising of a film normally has little to do with the actual film itself, so trailers or posters shouldn't factor into the analysis of a film, but I have to wonder what the poster for this film was really meant to convey that couldn't have been conveyed in some other fashion. The poster has two gay men with a child between them with big, yellow letters at the top, reading "These dads suck," and I wonder how that's supposed to attract people to this movie.

I guess it's supposed to be in the same way that people were attracted to Bad Santa (2003). People were meant to be intrigued about how a same-sex couple can be horrible parents, but that seems more like a homophobe's dream than anyone looking to see parenthood mocked in a way that would actually be funny. In general, most liberal-minded people whom is probably the film's main audience might take offense at the idea of saying a same-sex couple sucks at parenthood without any context. The assumption then becomes that these men suck simply because they're gay. It makes the title of the film, placed at the bottom of the poster in white letters, seem almost ironic, even though I'm sure writer-director Andrew Fleming most likely intended the title to be somewhat subversive of homophobic critics of same-sex couples adopting. Those critics usually argue that a same-sex household is not an "ideal home." I'm sure this was supposed to be Fleming's middle-finger to that.

Fleming is wading into mostly uncharted waters though. The idea of a same-sex couple raising a child is a rarity on television and in cinema. Many could point to The Birdcage (1996), the most successful gay film in the box office, which was about gay parents. The only major example on TV is Modern Family, which began in 2009. That ABC series featured two gay men raising a daughter. There was then The Kids Are All Right (2010), which was an Oscar-nominated film about two gay women raising a teen boy and girl. That's basically been it in terms of mainstream representation of gay parents. There was a series on Freeform called The Fosters in 2013 that centered on a lesbian, married couple raising biological and adopted children. There have been little things, here and there, depicting gay parents like Bear Cub (2004), which was a Spanish film, Breakfast With Scot (2008), which was a Canadian film, or Patrik, Age 1.5 (2010), which was a Swedish film, but nothing mainstream. It's only been independent productions or foreign films. One of the characters in Will & Grace was given a child, but his parenthood was never a main focus.

This is not to slight mainstream, content creators, most of whom are straight but are inclusive of LGBT characters. A lot of queer filmmakers or content creators have refrained from gay parenting as a main topic of discussion or as a main subject in whatever cinematic project they've done either. According to a study by the Williams Institute, there are only a quarter-million children being raised by gay parents. That's less than 1-percent of the U.S. population, so the amount of film and TV we've seen address this issue is probably appropriate. That being said, I doubt that this story is indicative of a lot of the experiences of those quarter-million. It's a weird, almost Hollywood farce that's meant to be more of a platform or vehicle for the two actors to do their shtick and be a silly romp rather than really dig into its characters like The Birdcage or The Kids Are All Right more attempt to do. This film is more a light fare.

Steve Coogan stars as Erasmus Brumble, a TV presenter who currently has a cooking show, which is produced in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with his partner with whom he constantly bickers. Erasmus is a bit of snob who is accustomed to a very wealthy lifestyle and likes to remain in an elitist bubble. Yet, he's very easygoing and can be quite personable. Coogan has worked with Fleming before in Fleming's Hamlet 2 (2008), but if I had to describe Coogan's character here in terms of his previous performances, Erasmus is a combination of Coogan's characters from Alan Partridge, Happy Endings and The Trip.

Paul Rudd co-stars as Paul Morgan, the director and/or producer for Erasmus' TV show. He's also Erasmus' partner with whom he lives and bickers. Paul has a bit of a temper. He's not as snobbish or even as stereotypically gay as Erasmus, but he's certainly accustomed to the wealthy lifestyle too. He suffers from panic attacks that stem from some unknown anxiety issues, possibly from childhood, stress from work or recent infidelity involving Erasmus. It's never clear. Those anxiety issues only increase when Erasmus' grandchild shows up in their house and has to live there. Rudd has worked with Coogan before in Our Idiot Brother (2011), but if I had to describe him in terms of previous performances, Paul Morgan is a combination of Rudd's characters from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Role Models and I Love You, Man.

Jack Gore plays Angel aka Bill Brumble, the child in question who comes to live with Erasmus and Paul. He's either stoic or angry, which Fleming limits, so the movie clearly doesn't hang on this kid's performance, but Gore is okay as a troubled, Taco Bell-loving, 10-year-old. Fleming's script could have provided him with a bit more to get insight into Angel's head, but things are rather obvious, given the opening scene involving his father, Beau, played by Jake McDorman (Murphy Brown and Limitless), an abusive, drug dealer who resents his own father for not being around.

If Fleming's script were stronger, there would have been some kind of pathos from this intergenerational disconnect. Erasmus' absence from Beau's life is a point of contention that never really is explored or delved. It's brushed over, which would have been fine, if Fleming had instead dug into the idea of Erasmus and Paul as parents. What are they giving up if anything? Are there any sacrifices, especially since they are rather wealthy? How does that compare to Beau?

That last question is rather dismissed because Beau is dismissed as this bad dad, mostly likely because of his addictions and criminal background. Not that it should be a competition, but something akin to a custody battle should have ensued. It's not that I wanted to see Erasmus in court with himself on one side and Beau on the other, even though we do get that scene here, but it's a brief scene because it's obvious where Angel should live and with whom he should live. It would have been dramatically and comedically more interesting, if there were a little bit of uncertainty of whom should get custody of the boy, but instead it's never really a question.

Coogan and Rudd are good in their roles and the scenes move along in a brisk enough pace with some clever but sometimes corny one-liners that make the movie entertaining enough. There simply wasn't enough meat on the bones of this project that keeps from crossing into a must-see film. Not to say that Coogan and Rudd aren't great comedic actors who generate some good chemistry here, but at the end of the movie, there is a montage of real-life, same-sex couples with their children, adopted or otherwise. In that montage, we see Larry Sullivan and David Monahan. Both of whom are actors, which begs the question why weren't actual gay actors employed here in the leads.

Not Rated but contains language and sexual situations.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 31 mins.

Available on DVD and VOD.