Gimme Five!: Dysfunctional Families

Join us every other Sunday as we treat you to a handful of the best and worst movies, characters, scenes, lines and or other significant cinematic moments. At least in our opinion.

With family day right around the corner, what better way to celebrate than by being thankful that we aren't a part of some of the most dysfunctional families we've seen in comedies. Although we love to watch and laugh at misfortune, drama and sheer insanity, we're grateful that we're not one of them.

5) THE BARNES FAMILY

Thanks to a remake of the well-loved British dark comedy Death at Funeral, we've been introduced to the Barnes family. What begins a solemn reunion after the death of the family patriarch turns into a mess of blackmail, murder (or so they think), a Valium high, a revealed affair and more, all unravelled through sometimes inappropriate, sometimes childish and always hilarious humour.

4) THE TENENBAUM FAMILY

Three sibling child prodigies grow up and fall into a slump, as their father tries to win back their and his separated wife's affections, faking cancer after he's kicked out of the hotel he's been living out of. Meanwhile, one son falls in love with his adopted sister, fighting for her affections with his best friend and her much older husband, plus a wreck of other problems. Though it works itself out in the end. Sort of.

3) THE MCCALLISTER FAMILY

The McCallister's are one of my favourite movie families of all time, with some of the best one-liners I've ever heard (and not nearly enough screen time as they deserve). "Look what you did, you little jerk." "You're such a disease." "You're what the French call les incompetents." Of course, all directed at eight-year-old Kevin, who they leave home alone when they go on a family vacation to Paris, unintentionally. No really, it was unintentional.

2) THE HOOVER FAMILY

In 2006, Little Miss Sunshine was the little indie flick that works its way into everyone's hearts, winning awards, critical praise and box office success. But what made this a movie that everyone could fall in love with was just as much its ridiculous scenarios as it was its quirky characters: a teenager taking a vow of silence, a suicidal uncle, a foul-mouthed grumpy grandfather and an aspirational, naive seven-year-old and her parents. The family treks across states to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty contest in a VW bus that always needs a push start so that Olive can win the judges over (or not) with the routine her grandpa taught her to Rick James' Super Freak.

1) THE GRISWOLD FAMILY

When it comes to dysfunctional families, the Griswolds are a classic. In a road trip from Chicago to LA's Walley World, the nutty, ridiculous family comes across robbery, death, getting lost and utter chaos. And even when they've had enough, despite pleas, their father Clark is determined to make it to Walley World, "America's Favourite Family Fun Park." But that just leads to more insanity.

Michelle's Top 5 Summer Movies. Ever.

I'll be honest. My favourite summer-themed films of all time do lean on the cheesy side, but isn't summer all about guilty pleasures? While some would rather spend their time loading up on calories from cheesy chili dogs, a cheesy movie can be just as satisfying. (Actually, both at the same time sound even better...) It's not to late to get a little silly with these films before summer's over.

5) Beach Blanket Bingo

Hahaha! Haha! This film is hilarious because it's so ridiculously corny. Honestly, if you're looking for a good laugh to send your summer off then this is it. As if the hairstyles, outfits and dance moves weren't enough alone to do it, the close-up shots of butts shakin' it are just hilarious. Jokes are lame, the story is pretty pointless and it's all about good, clean fun. It's far from the way you expect a film about 20-something-year-olds kicking it at the beach to be nowadays but in the 60s, it was all about Frankie and Annette and their silly singing and frolicking on the beach. Now, it's comedy for a whole different reason.

4) Camp Nowhere

Do not tell me that I'm not fourteen anymore; I do not care. I don't know a single kid that wouldn't have dreamed of a summer like the one in Camp Nowhere: no parents, dozens of friends and very deep pocket change. What more could you have asked for? It's also impossible that there would be so many oblivious parents out there, but that's just part of the charm. For those who haven't seen this fantasy-of-a-film, kids tricked their parents into going away to supposed "fat camps" and "computer camps," led by Mud (Jonathan Jackson) and Dennis Van Welker (an all too fitting Christopher Lloyd), who they've blackmailed into supporting their shenanigans. Come on, don't tell me you still wouldn't go if you had the chance.

Photo: youtube.com screencap

3) Caddyshack

OK, number one reason to see Caddyshack is the "poo" in the pool. Seriously. It's become one of the most brilliant, fool-proof pranks ever. Aside from that, it's got a roster of iconic comedians: Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Ted Knight. For me though, it's all about Chase. He plays the overconfident Ty Webb, one of the co-founders of the Bushwood Country Club where Danny (Michael O'Keefe) is caddying all summer to save up for college in the fall. Ty's subtle moves are hilarious, even after re-watches. He's like an insane man trapped in the body of a golf-garbed sane dude.

Photo: source unknown

2) National Lampoon's Vacation

Evidently, I'm a Chevy Chase fan, and Vacation is just one of his funniest of all time. Clark Griswold (Chase) has decided to take his family on a summer vacation to Walley World and will stop at nothing to get there. And make it on the rides. That includes trudging across the country in one of the most hideous cars ever, visiting Ellen's (Beverly D'Angelo) cousin's crazy family, getting stranded in the desert and ever-so-respectfully disposing of Aunt Edna's body when she passes away in the midst of the trip. It's an awesome, crazy mess.

1) Now and Then

Summer is really about spending time with people you have a good time with and who better than your best friends. This film is so underrated. A 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is just sad. But then again, most critics were older men, not little girls. The film about four lifelong friends taking a look back on the summer they began to grow up. Now and Then has so much heart it just makes me feel mushy gushy inside. It's all about friendship, sticking up for each other and having someone to confide in. It's also a much lighter and more realistic take on that messy adolescent stage in life that so many films tend to either mock or over-dramatize. Not to mention, the late 60s soundtrack is also super groovy.

Photo: source unknown