Parental Guidance

Plot

Sean (Casey Lee) is a young man trying to overcome the stigma of growing up in South Central Los Angeles in a wacky extended family of misfits and miscreants. Despite his reservations, Sean brings his college-educated girlfriend, Lissa (Maia Campbell), to the family's Christmas dinner where she encounters loveable eccentrics, offended cross-dressers, and drug-addled gang members. Hilarity ensues. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

Review

An urban version of Parenthood -- where all the estranged family members come to terms amid warm and fuzzy reconciliations -- this 1997 feature was originally called "Kinfolks," but couldn't find a distributor, no doubt because the film stock is so grainy that even on DVD it looks like it was shot through a screen window. There is an outside chance there are a few urban comedy fans in the audience who will not find the low-production values, technical flaws, and overly familiar comic antics as necessarily dissuasive virtues. The best thing going here is Casey Lee, whose polished charm is reminiscent of a young Will Smith. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

Cast

• Casey Lee - Sean
• Maia Campbell - Lissa

Stacii Jae Johnson - Nikki; Monique Edwards - Michelle; Dwayne L. Barnes

Credit

Theron K. Cal - Co-producer, Karl Epps - Director, Lisa Washington - Executive Producer, Scott Edelstein - Cinematographer, Lisa Washington - Producer, Anita M. Cal - Producer, Karl Epps - Producer, Anita M. Cal - Screenwriter

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