Not exactly what one was expecting but it turned out to have this touching thing going on in the interface between the child and adult worlds - for me anyway. The disappointed user reviews suggest the film was marketed wrongly as another gross-out caper, which it only sort of is. OK some scenes are a bit awkward and off-beat, but actually consider it a dark comedy drama dealt out with a deft and light touch. I enjoyed the rich photography of the edge of city school location especially the glowing finale, the heart warming pop soundtrack, and the actors of all ages are great with quirky characters to match. Give it a break dissing it and let others have a try -- or is urbanity and optimism now so really out of fashion?

The movie was fine. It was entertaining. It did it's job. However, I have two observations. Firstly, most of the movie deals with strictly adult themes, ie an extra marritial affair, a corpse on middle school grounds, being framed at work for vandalism, an inter-office affair with a subordinate, cock comparing, not to mention a goodly deal of cursing and vulgarities, which doesn't bother me personally, but as it also has a major kids theme running throughout that all the "cockblocking" etc references just don't seem to warrant or justify. These are the exact words used in the film, not mine! Secondly, in light of the fact that this is a 2018 release, was it really necessary to refer to an arm burn as "an Indian rug burn" - twice?! Really? This wasn't a satirical film, so it wasn't an Archie Bunker moment (kids, you can google it). And they pretty much screwed the metro movement in the face (those are my words). Hey, I was born in a very non-Pc 1957, and yes, I grew up with that phrase and likely even used it myself back then a time or two (I wasn't particularly into roughhousing), but People! Haven't we made any progress? What the hell is that phrase even supposed to mean, anyway? Why is twisting your arm in opposite directions contributed to the actions of Indians? Or, is it just another racially bigoted stereotype? Me thinks the latter. And look, I don't ask for perfection, just progress, and someone was definitely asleep at the wheel when they approved this script! My final word? I don't think this film knew it's audience or who it was playing to because you can't put parents and kids together to watch this one, that's for sure. Feels like a crisis of identity to me. Pick a lane and stay in it. Aside from all that, I loved the cast! Nice ensemble!

How else to explain what was a missed opportunity given the cast featured in this alleged comedy. A single father (played by the rapper/actor Common), is suddenly beset by a relationship revelation and a curious incident at his place of employment. While his daughter waits for his Career Day presentation at her school, that very place is the scene of a man's dead body at the school. It's being handled by administrators in a curious "we must keep this secret" fashion. The directing debut of Judy Greer (professional "best friend" in multiple rom-coms) doesn't hold much appeal beyond some scenery. Most characters here you care just enough about, but it's in a mostly unfunny script.