The comedy in the film is provided by Wahlberg and Byrne, as well as the supporting cast of comedians including Tom Segura, Tig Notaro, and Iliza Shlesinger, as well as Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer.
The movie has an 82% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the pros praising its humor and heart. The Irish Times' Tara Brady accurately described the film as having "effective Hallmark sentiment, some terrific darkly humorous banter from Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro's case workers, and a grand lump-in-the-throat finale that salutes foster carers." It's equally popular with audiences; it has an 82% audience score on the rating site.
The film was a modest box office success, grossing $120 million worldwide against a $48 million production budget, with $67 million of the box office take coming domestically, according to Box Office Mojo.
In the end, Instant Family is a moving family comedy, even though it's not exactly suitable for the whole family; it's a pretty hard PG-13. Sometimes families use the F-word. It's currently available to stream on Hulu.
