The phrase “the ol’ ball and chain” goes literal in this tepid horror-comedy seemingly spawned by an age-old women’s magazine query: “Just what does a gal have to do to get a guy to commit?” Fit to be committed herself, romance-obsessed Dori (Katia Winter) gets involved with amoral real-estate honcho Norman (Matthew Settle), who accepts her offer of a weekend at her place in the country.
Soon, he’s imprisoned “Misery”-style, surrounded by Dori and her equally bonkers grandparents (M. Emmet Walsh and Charlotte Rae) and two adoring kids (Lindsay Rose Binder and Dean Kapica) who call Norman “Daddy” in their handwritten Valentine’s Day cards . . . in June.
Director Christian Charles gets some comic mileage from the inimitable Walsh and Rae, but it’s ultimately hard to care too much about a caddish protagonist like Norman — or, for that matter, about the clichéd “women are crazy!” sentiment that hums nastily under the antics of Dori’s unorthodox family gathering.