When one hears the word "dysfunctional", normal people (if there's such a thing) start coming up with images of abnormality, as though being abnormal isn't normal at all. In this film, being dysfunctional is funny. That's why it's a comedy.

The film centres on a dysfunctional and codependent family who are struggling to maintain the family business, a small community theatre in New York City. Patriarch Mel (Mandy Patinkin) is a failed playwright; his daughter Jackie (Jen Tullock) is a quirky actress stuck in adolescence and a mother to teenage daughter Dodge (Oona Yaffe); his daughter Rachel (Utt) is a business-minded lesbian whose attempts to be the responsible member of the family have made her something of a control freak, and Sherell (Judith Light), the long-lost mother, a soap opera actress, and also co-writer of the film.. Well, you put all these ingredients together and you get to see a dysfunctional family comedy.

Although there have been mixed reviews, a film like this taking place in New York is a typically normal film because being dysfunctional in New York is, in my opinion, "normal".

© 2019 Ed Farolan