Some couples choose to be parents, others have parenting thrust upon them. That's the situation Steve Coogan and Paul Rudd find themselves in when Coogan's grandson shows up one night, and puts a kid-sized damper on one of their regular bawdy dinner parties and their extravagant lifestyle.
What follows is
a fairly typical look at a couple learning how to parent, the strains that come with it and facing up to the flaws in their own relationship as they struggle with their newfound, and unwanted, responsibilities.
If that all sounds a little dry, don't worry, it's not. The movie's leads ensure its often laugh out loud funny. There's some great lines here, especially from Coogan's snooty and camp-tacular celebrity TV chef Erasmus Brumble. He does veer close to OTT parody initially but soon enough shows the pathos and heart of Brumble.
As always Rudd is extremely likeable, even while being weary, grumpy and increasingly dissastified at putting up with his egocentric partner.
The tone of the movie is mostly light and jokey, but it doesn't shy away from serious and dramatic moments when it needs to. This kind of story can easily slip into preachy or overly saccharine territory but, thankfully, it remains grounded never veering into cheese.
