The people around Dan Morgan would say that he’s a nice guy, a nice neighbor. He’s a good salesman at a local car lot. Oh, and Dan has a lovely wife, Jess; and two teen kids, Nina and Kyle.
Other than that, people probably wouldn’t have anything else to say about Dan. They, frankly, don’t even know anything else about their neighbor Dan Morgan. Even Jess and Dan’s kids only know him as a pretty laid-back, well-organized and non-spontaneous nice guy.
And that is exactly how Dan wants it. He doesn’t stand and speak at school board meetings. He never makes crazy snap decisions. He doesn’t post on social media. He avoids pictures altogether. And he flies under everyone’s radar.
Why? Well, because Dan loves his family and the low key, borderline-boring life they lead, for one thing. And secondly, Dan has a past.
Sure, you can smile and say that everyone has a past. But not like Dan’s.
Eighteen years ago, Dan was, well, a government assassin. He killed a lot of people. And he has to stay invisible these days to keep those past associations from rearing their ugly heads and gobbling up all he now cares for and hopes to protect.
Unfortunately, some young jerk took Dan’s photo when he and his wife were out enjoying an anniversary celebration. And when Dan politely asked him to delete it from his phone, that sneering so-and-so purposely posted the pic to his socials.
A few days later the first thug showed up at the local supermarket while Dan was carrying his infant son and shopping for diapers. And that steely eyed goon tried to knife Dan … through his son.
Dan didn’t kill the attacker. He simply incapacitated him and got out of the store as quickly as possible.
And here he is now, standing in the living room of his empty house, holding his son and zipping through all the possible plans for escape in his head. Looks like it might be time to gather his cache of hidden weapons, money and passports to take his family on a completely unexpected vacation. That’s it, a road trip with no phones, and all paid for in cash.
Nice guy Dan is going to have to throw aside all his well-ordered plans and schedules and do something spontaneous. Jess will probably love the idea. She’s never seen this side of Dan before. Truth is, everyone’s about to see a side of Dan that they’ve never seen before.
Dan sincerely loves his wife and kids. And he goes to dangerous lengths to protect them. (Of course, his idea of protection also includes lying to them for years, which isn’t so positive.) Ultimately, Dan is willing to give up everything that he loves if it means that his endangered family will be safe.
On their long road trip together, Dan and his family have an opportunity to talk and bond. They forcibly put aside their devices. Dan says: “I really do think social media is disgusting and gross.” The family members—sans distractions of smartphones—learn about one another and grow closer. And in the end, the whole family steps forward to protect one another from outside threats, as well as expressing love in ways that generally hadn’t done before.
Early on, Dan asks a customer to consider a simple question: “Is there a change I can make in my life to become a better version of myself?” And in the end, the film broadly suggests that by focusing on your skills and dreams, combined with the supported of your loved ones, you can bring forth that better version of yourself.
The film also illustrates how we can sometimes feel trapped by the routine of life. But it’s important to step back and realize the blessings that we have rather than always wishing for more. For instance, Dan and Jess talk about their life together at one point, and Dan notes that he hated the person he used to be. But after meeting Jess and becoming a dad, he discovered simple joys that changed the way he looked at life.
None.
Dan and Jess make a number of comments and quips about their sex life. And once they head out on the road trip, those intimate discussions and physical moments heat up.
We see them kissing on several occasion, sometimes passionately. Dan steps out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist in one case. He and Jess begin making out and that session leads to the bed. We then see them the next morning, covered by a sheet, in a hotel room littered with clothes and overturned furniture. Jess meets a woman named Gwen who states that she and Dan had a long-running relationship in the past that was quite steamy. Gwen later straddles a bound Dan and kisses his face seductively.
During their trip, Dan and family stop at the university that daughter Nina’s boyfriend attends. She goes to his dorm room to surprise him and catches him with another girl. (He’s wearing underwear with an open shirt and the scantily clad girlfriend is behind him.) In Las Vegas, Kyle ogles showgirls out on the streets in flashy and revealing attire.
Jess implies that she got pregnant with Nina long before she and Dan married.
When Dan’s past life as a government assassin spills over into his family life, lots of flying bullets and battles follow.
We see Dan tumbling, kicking and bashing about with a killer in a supermarket while hugging his baby carrier-bound infant son to his chest. Shelfs and glass freezer doors are smashed, and a thrown knife barely misses the child. That scene keys us in to Dan’s skills, and the floodgates open from there in the form of car chases, gun fights and beat downs.
Men get shot by silenced pistols. Scenery is regularly chewed up by rounds from pistols and automatic rifles. Motorcyclists bash into moving vehicles and obstacles, and one flips up to smash through a billboard. Someone is dragged along, clinging to the side of a speeding vehicle. Large vehicles crash. A science lab full of glass beakers, test tubes and fragile equipment is battered and smashed as two men thrash about. A man holds a pistol to Jess’ throat, promising to kill her, Dan and each of their children. His hand is knocked away and a knife is thrown into his eye socket.
Men fall from elevated levels of a large hotel. A guy is shoved over a railing and falls at least 10 floors to his death. Dan takes on a lobby full of armed men, blasting them with shotgun shells and pistol fire. A man has a knife jammed down into his thigh. People are thumped with large poles. An explosive is sent down in an elevator and takes two men by surprise when it erupts in gouts of flame.
Jess gets into the action, too. She lands some punches but is more often on the receiving end of another woman’s blows. She’s smashed through glass shelving and wooden tables. Jess slams herself up against a wall with her own efforts at one point. And she ends up bleeding and cut, pinned down by a large slab of concrete. Ultimately, though, she escapes by throwing a large broken pole into her opponent’s chest.
Nina uses a pain-point grip to inflict agony on her cheating boyfriend. Dan uses a similar move later.
There are two f-words (in addition to one unfinished f-word and the word “friggin’”), some 17 s-words and multiple uses each of “d–n,” “h—,” “a–,” “a–hole” and “b–ch” in the dialogue. There are also more than 20 misuses total of God’s and Jesus’ names (two of those combining “God” with “d–n”). Someone makes a crude reference to the male anatomy, and another character uses a rude hand gesture.
While visiting a university with Nina, Jess proves her “youthfulness” by performing a handstand on a beer keg and chugging down beer. She and Dan also drink champagne at dinner. A bottle of alcohol is broken and its flammable content sets two men on fire.
Early on, Nina pushes aside her own aspirations and is swayed by an older boyfriend and his social-activist ways. (Though when she later learns of his duplicitous actions, she returns to the things she loves.) Kyle lies repeatedly to his parents about his gaming habits. Later, after Dan and Jess tell their teens to stay in a safe place, both kids break the rules and head out to seek fun.
People gamble. Several characters vomit after seeing someone else killed (which is then played as a running joke).
After Dan finally admits to his past, his kids refuse to listen to him because of his lies. Someone shoves a very full and dirty diaper into a man’s face.
Lots of films have attempted to blend goofy comedy with high-energy action. Some have also embraced the alluring idea of a protagonist having a secret past and a certain set of skills that no one knows about.
Pulling all those cinematic threads together in a nicely woven tapestry, however, is no easy task. And Apple TV+’s The Family Plan ends up being more of a disheveled knot.
Granted, this streaming service construct does have a True Lies feel about it (though it delivers on that movie’s feel with far less charm and style). It also gives us a charismatic cast in the form of stars Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan. And it cheers the idea of families unplugging and finding time to connect and bond.
But everything else about this pic is a jumble. The jokes miss; the story cuts are jagged and odd feeling; and the whole thing is buried under a layer of violence, crude language and sexual quips.
Apple TV+ seems to be aiming The Family Plan at a mom-dad-and-the-kids crowd. But discerning families might want to opt for a better plan.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
