While it was refreshing to see a film produced by women and the focal point of the narrative the relationship of an aunt and her niece, "Family" failed to make a point about women or even portray the female characters with much dignity.

The focus of the action comes when the workaholic Kate Stone is asked by her brother to step in and care for her niece while the parents attend to a family emergency. This sets the stage for the potential bonding of Auntie Kate with little Maddie.

Unfortunately, the bonding took place in a haphazard and unbelievable way. The turning point was when Kate insisted on Maddie attending a school dance when she knew that child was terrified of the abuse she would receive on the dance floor. At that point in the film, the aunt-niece relationship was shattered beyond repair.

It seemed as though the female filmmakers were interested in formulating a social message about the harmful effects of "fat shaming."' Little Maddie was obese, as well as two of the co-workers of Kate. But the film never took a stand or offered any insights into the fat-shaming theme. It was especially troubling that Maddie was experiencing bullying from the students, yet the school authorities were not responding. Instead, Maddie gets suspended for fighting back!

The good potential for a genuine relationship between Auntie Kate and sweet little Maddie was missed. The grand finale in the "gathering of the juggalos" turned the film into a train wreck. What was the child doing cavorting with a group of knife-wielding weirdoes?

There may have been a breath or two of fresh air provided in the neighborly high jinks of Kate McKinnon's character or the and bravado of the character "Baby Joker." But, overall, "Family" never achieved a coherent comic style, and it completely failed in to deliver any social message other than to offer a sad portrait of family dysfunction in America.

Kate McKinnon is locked-down and focused on her job, so depressed she can't pick up on the least human emotion. When she has to supervise her niece for a week, she hates everything about it.

I've been appreciative of Miss McKinnon's work for several years now, and she performs the low-affect depressive character very well. In fact, almost everyone in this movie seems to be working in some form of depression, some situationally, some stuck there. Her father is a drunk. Her brother, whom she depended on growing up, is estranged. Her sister-in-law's mother is dying, her niece is bullied at school... well, it's all a mess. On top of that, her niece has a friend who's a Juggalo, a fan of Insane Clown Posse, a group that makes Deadheads look about as obsessive as fans of the Easy Listening channel on your radio. A few years ago, the FBI classified them as a 'hybrid gang', and they fought and won against the classification.

It is a comedy in the classic sense, even though nothing very funny happens. The story is a little too neat, and the symbols too obvious. The performances are good.

Kate Stone (Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black) is career-focused. That's it. Nothing else. But she's become an outcast and lost from what's left of her family. When she's asked to babysit her niece Maddie, her life quite literally must change. Family isn't the expected family comedy/drama and that's probably why we enjoyed it so much.

Laura Steinel is a writer, actress and director who brought this film together. It's the only coming of age Juggalo film that I can think of. However, it treats that subject with way more respect than you'd think.

This film is helped by a great supporting cast, including Brian Tyree Henry as a sensei, Bryn Vale as young Maddie, Matt Walsh (one of those character actors who brings up every comedy he's in) as a co-worker, Kate McKinnon as a neighbor, Natasha Lyonne under heavy makeup as an Insane Clown Posse fan and Peter Horton as Kate's father.

We usually end up watching a lot of these family growth films and this one felt real. That's more than I can say for most of them. Also, as someone who perhaps has been sprayed with Faygo before, I kind of loved the scene where ICP stopped their show and tenderly searched for a missing girl.