The family-friendliest movie comedy this season is also the schmaltziest. And, thanks to Billy Crystal, the shtickiest. "Parental Guidance" is a mild-mannered riff on parenting, contrasting the top-down/career-first mentality of one generation with the coddled "nurturing" of today. Basically, it's a vehicle for Crystal and Bette Midler to riff on the spoiled, overindulged and sometimes uptight children their own kid (Marisa Tomei) is raising. Crystal delivers tepidly caustic rants, Midler invokes the occasional inappropriate life lesson and Tomei struggles to find anything fun about playing a smothering mother. The laughs are telegraphed, with director Andy Fickman ("The Game Plan") clearing the decks to make every gag a stale showcase moment for his stars. (Rated PG.)
ROGER MOORE, MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE SERVICE
