Family Squares gets off to a worrisome start. When Grandma Mabel (June Squibb) passes away, her family must come together. As they navigate the funeral arrangements over a series of Zoom calls, they learn a number of shocking secrets. It initially appears as if writer-director Stephanie Laing is going to be too reliant on a gimmick. While Zoom is an important part of Family Squares, it is the writing and characters that truly stand out. The film uses today’s world as a setting, so conference calls are a necessity, but it would have been just as good without them.
Family Squares is a touching family drama filled with humor and heart. The film does an excellent job of weaving in jokes without taking away from the emotional impact of the stories. This has the added effect of preventing the plot from ever getting too heavy. Many family dramedies tend to lean in one direction or the other. That is never the case here as it flows between emotions while still keeping a consistent tone.
Surprisingly, the family’s secrets end up taking a backseat to the characters. It is not that they ever become uninteresting. It is more that the plot focuses on learning about the Worth family. The revelations are just a part of the story Family Squares is trying to tell. This does not mean the reveals fall flat; in a way, they mean more since the audience is so invested in the lives of the family.
Despite the strong script and performances, Family Squares is still a pandemic movie. An argument can be made that there have already been too many of them, so how much a person enjoys this may ultimately depend on how patient they are with this style of film. Laing makes some clever changes (many of the non-Zoom scenes are divided into boxes, for example), but some people may turn off the film before giving it a chance. This would be a shame since unlike those movies, it is not about a family dealing with the pandemic; it is just about family.
Family Squares comes to theaters and on demand February 25
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