The Parenting Review
Director: Craig Johnson
Date Created: 2025-03-14 21:06
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The Parenting Review: Directed by Craig Johnson and written by Kent Sublette, The Parenting is a horror-comedy that tries to combine family cringe and supernatural humour. Starring Brandon Flynn and Nik Dodani as Josh and Rohan, two boyfriends who bring their families on a trip—only to find they’re in for ghosts, possessions, and other unexplained phenomena. Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, and Dean Norris complete the cast—some big guns who know a thing or two about comedy.
The Parenting Review
HBO’s The Parenting had potential. The comedy was witty, the family life was fun to watch, and the cast worked well to build their characters. Nik Dodani as Rohan was my personal favourite—he played the character humorously and lovingly without exaggerating. His chemistry with Brandon Flynn’s Josh also felt real, so I found myself invested in them as a couple.
The idea of a horror family trip was also appealing. Rohan and his buddies organize this trip with the aim of impressing Josh’s parents, but things start to take a turn when ghostly activity starts to mar their plans. There was room for a ghost story spin on Meet the Parents and for a bit, it was.
It’s the second half that I lost interest in. The horror element of the film, an element that was supposed to make all of it more exciting, was too much of a cliché. Possessions, eerie noises, strange silhouettes hiding in the shadows—does that sound familiar? I kept waiting and waiting for some kind of twist or something that would make it stand out from what we have already witnessed, but it never really happened.
Even the comedy, which had been so excellent in the first half, started to become repetitive. The jokes that had made me laugh previously just weren’t doing it anymore. It’s like the film started to lose its pace, and instead of sustaining the lightness, it just dragged on and on.
One of the things that annoyed me the most is that The Parenting movie really had the opportunity to delve into family relationships on a more deeper level. Rohan is attempting to impress Josh’s family, and there are those moments when you find yourself catching the awkwardness and tension of bringing a partner home to meet the family. That’s something that so many people can understand! If the movie had delved into that more, instead of ghosts and possessions, it would have been a much more memorable film.
There are a few emotional moments that do pay off, and I was grinning at how the families slowly start to see through each other. Otherwise, it seems like it’s an afterthought and I’m not sure it’s the heart of the story.
By the time the movie reached its big finale, I was already tuning out. The battle between the supernatural entities and the humans was rushed and way too convenient. It didn’t feel like there were any real stakes or consequences. It’s like the writers just wanted to wrap everything up in two seconds and get on with it.
Even the characters, who started off on a good note, didn’t receive the gratifying arcs that they deserved. I was hoping for something more surprising or original to conclude things on, but what we received was something that seemed like it was from a dozen other horror-comedies.
Summing Up
The Parenting isn’t a bad movie per se—it just wasn’t as good as it could have been. The first half is actually fun, and the cast is excellent. But it didn’t contain anything new or memorable, so I felt let down because it seemed like another forgettable horror-comedy.
2025 The Parenting is now streaming on HBO and JioHotstar.
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