Byrne and Wahlberg are, as always, appealing presences, each finding moments to shine and reveal the depth of their emotion toward the kids. Spencer gets the lion's share of the laughs and delivers as the unfiltered half of a comic team with Notaro. Playing Lizzy, young Moner is impressive she's intelligent and emotionally available. Much larger, more serious issues - such as the re-emergence of the kids' birth mother - also come up to complicate the budding family's existence. Everyday pitfalls like getting the kids to eat and dress properly throw off the couple's once-tidy existence. Some moments are clearly exaggerated for comic effect, but generally speaking, the film feels rooted in reality (though some might say the foster care system comes off a bit too rosy). It comes off as authentically earnest, with some light touches and effective performances.

This kind of story could easily veer into schmaltz, but Instant Family admirably avoids most of that. This dramedy offers heartfelt moments and touching details likely drawn from writer-director Sean Anders' actual experiences of fostering three siblings with his wife. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails. Ultimately the movie champions unconditional familial love and perseverance and argues that kids coming from extremely difficult circumstances are still kids who deserve love and a chance to flourish. The pedophile subplot isn't a major one, but it does involve an older (though still young) man preying on a teen. When a pedophile gets beaten up, it's played for laughs, as are some supporting characters' unrealistic/not genuine reasons for wanting to foster/adopt - which could bother some families.

There are comic accidents and one serious one (with a little bit of resulting blood). Expect occasional strong language (including 'f-k,' 'bitch,' 's-t,' etc.) and some drinking and drug/addiction references. The couple in the film ( Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne) hit pretty much every road bump on the way to becoming a forever family. Parents need to know that Instant Family is a dramedy based on writer-director Sean Anders and his wife's real-life experiences fostering and eventually adopting three young siblings.

Instant family movie on netflix