DVD Review: ‘Family Squares’

Review by James Lindorf

Director Stephanie Laing is best known for her work on television, with multiple episodes of Apple TV+’s Physical, HBO’s “Veep,” and “Made for Love” to her credit. But Laing used the pandemic to partner with her co-writer Brad Morris to create “Family Squares.” A feature film with a story you’ve seen before presented in a way you would never have dreamed possible until now. As of April 5th, “Family Squares,” quite possibly the first professionally produced film done entirely remotely, is available On Demand and DVD.

The Worths used to be a tight-knit family unit, but lately, they have become the portrait of dysfunction. Separated by distance and a pandemic, the family is brought together over Zoom to say goodbye to Grandma Mabel (June Squibb) and share their grief. Mayhem quickly ensues as Mabel shares a long-buried family secret. As the family tries to come to terms with Mabel’s revelation, they soon discover she wasn’t the only one with something to hide.

“Family Squares” features a terrific cast, each giving their best. Unfortunately, as with all ensemble films, not all roles are given the same emotional core. June Squibb has probably the least screen time between the moments before her death and the pre-recorded videos shared by her lawyer. However, her performance is gleeful. She lays it on thick unleashing lines like “I gotta get back to being dead” in-between dropping truth bombs on her family. Ann Dowd (Hereditary) has a charming storyline involving hiring someone from a task service to follow her secretive wife’s body around town. Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), who is still struggling after her mother’s death, is now being confronted with the loss of her great-grandmother, with whom she was very close.

The stories begin to fall apart with the three brothers played by Scott MacArthur (The Mick), Billy Magnussen (No Time To Die), and Timothy Simons (Veep). One is bleeding the family dry with risky business ideas, another is obsessed with the book he wrote about being impaled by a javelin, and the third is an infamous computer hacker living on the lam. The stories range from a very realistic family situation to a plausible but odd plot to what feels like it was leftover from another movie. The rest of the cast includes Judy Greer (Archer), Margot Martindale (August: Osage County), Sam Richardson (Veep), Casey Wilson (Saturday Night Live), and Henry Winkler.

Recorded either on Zoom or with cameras sent to the actors, “Family Squares” is a professional film with a high level of amateurish charm. It feels like something your grandparents put together with the help of a tech-savvy 7th grader. It also brings to mind the countless heartbreaking stories from during the pandemic of loved ones having to say goodbye through a screen, if at all. The reunion of a wacky family is typically only truly relatable to those with a family like that of their own, but this new element is relatable to a much wider range of people because we have all been living this way for the last two years. “Family Squares” is an entertaining blend of escapist comedy and realistic drama and scores a 3 out of 5.

Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Director: Stephanie Laing
Writer: Stephanie Laing, Brad Morris
Release Date (Theaters and Streaming): February 25th, 2022
Release Date (DVD): April 5th, 2022
Runtime: 1h 35m