Ideal Home - A Father Rarely Comes Alone - Blu-ray

Movie: Successful TV chef Erasmus (Steve Coogan) and his producer Paul (Paul Rudd) are a well-oiled team, and not just on set. The two are also a couple in their personal lives, enjoying their life of wealth and partying. Then one day, a boy named Bill (Jack Gore) shows up on their doorstep, opening up to Erasmus that he is his grandson. While his father is in jail, the two men must care for the boy. As surrogate fathers against their will, they quickly reach their limits and the problems that have long simmered beneath the surface of their relationship now threaten to destroy the men's happiness for good.

Ideal Home - A Father Rarely Comes Alone thrives primarily on its two lead actors. Brit Steve Coogan is truly wonderful as the self-absorbed TV chef. The fact that his character serves some partly stereotypical clichés is simply part of the eccentric, partly put-on appearance of the TV personality. He can't turn that off so easily, even when the cameras stop rolling. This regularly drives his friend crazy, which Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) embodies very sympathetically. By providing a clear counterbalance to Coogan's character, there's a rousing dynamic between the two characters here, with some wonderfully incorrect dialogue providing some really good laughs.

Even though director Andrew Fleming doesn't always manage to hit the right note in his mix of comedy and drama, and he unfortunately also gets lost in an arguably conventional dramaturgy every now and then, the film is still a lot of fun for long stretches. Sure, the film only comes close to a classic like A Cage Full of Fools or its US remake, which it can be compared to, in a few moments. Nevertheless, it offers enough scenes in which one can smile amusedly or even laugh heartily as a viewer.

Here the wheel is not reinvented and no profound plea for same-sex parents is presented. Ideal Home - A father rarely comes alone is no more and no less than entertaining entertainment cinema, which here and there a little bit offends, without really hurting anyone. In the end it's quite harmless fun with two great main actors and thus just the right stuff for a cosy home cinema afternoon. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The picture pleases with a good, if not outstanding sharpness and powerful colors. The sound remains rather restrained due to the genre and focuses primarily on the dialogue. These come especially in the better original version very well to the fore. All in all, however, there is no reason to complain and therefore also a deserved: good!

Extras: Unfortunately, the disc has no bonus material to offer.

Conclusion: Ideal Home - A Father Rarely Comes Alone is a charming comedy that stands up to all sorts of clichés with two great leads and plenty of politically incorrect gags. The Blu-ray shows the film in good picture and sound quality. Unfortunately, there is no bonus material and subtitles are not included. All in all, however, still a clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp