The recently released Netflix dramedy “The Price Of Family” is a feel-good comedy about a dysfunctional family’s gradual acceptance of one another. It features joyful endings, heartwarming humor, and the emotional pain of abandoned parents. The movie depicts Carlo (Christian De Sica) and Ana’s (Angela Finocchiaro) story, saying goodbye to their kids as they leave the house to pursue their careers. However, once they have moved out, they hardly ever visit their parents, not even on special occasions. To regain the lost attention of their children, they played a practical joke on them, but let’s have a look at how that panned out.
Spoilers Ahead
‘The Price Of Family’ Plot Summary: What Happens In The Film?
“The Price of Family” opens in the neighborhood where Carlo and Ana are saying goodbye to their son Emilio (Claudio Colica) and daughter Alessandra (Dharma Mangia Woods). Ana tolerated an irritating neighbor who enjoyed boasting about her closeness to her kids. As their adult children left, Ana and Carlo felt left out and began to yearn for more of their attention. They made frequent phone calls to Alessandra and Emilio, not thinking that their busy children would find it annoying. Even on Alessandra’s birthday, she failed to visit her parents, which saddened Ana and Carlo. However, Ana’s mother, who was a little too laid-back for her age, stood by her daughter’s side to comfort her. She seemed to be a character that didn’t require a lot of emotional support, but her daughter Ana did. When she and her husband, Carlo, went to meet their daughter, they found that their callous daughter was lying to them and telling them to ignore celebrating Christmas with family. The same thing happened with their son Emilio, who made up a reason to skip the gathering on Christmas. So Ana and Carlo came up with a plan to play a prank on their children. They stopped calling, which disturbed their kids a little bit because, at the end of the day, they still had to take care of their parents.
Alessandra and Emilio had not spoken to their parents in weeks as their parents didn’t respond to their calls, so they called their grandmother, Giuliana (Fioretta Mari), who broke the unexpected news that compelled them to go see their parents. Previously, Alessandra and Emilio made up an excuse to skip their aunt Tea’s funeral, but they were shocked to learn from their grandma that their parents had received a sizable inheritance from their aunt Tea. They were overjoyed by the news and went to see their parents just out of interest for their share of the inheritance. Ana and Carlo got exactly what they wanted. After some awkward dinner table moments, Ana and Carlo eventually lied to them about the inheritance. Let’s dive into the story to see if Alessandra and Emilio can figure out the lie and acknowledge why their parents had to rely on this disgusting lie.
How Did Ana And Carlo’s Lie Surface? Who Inherited Aunt Tea’s Money?
Going beyond just lying to them, Ana and Carlo did everything in their ability to appear wealthy so that their kids would be more drawn to them. However, everything had a price, and Ana and Carlo’s deception cost them heavily. Carlo rented a Ferrari only to prove his lie to his son, whereas Ana bought designer clothing and handbags to give to her daughter. But they were unaware that their children would become greedier as a result of their pretense. While Emilio’s status was improved by spilling all the tea in his office, his boss started to urge him to invest in the business. Carlo, therefore, promised Emilio to provide him with a significant sum in order to cover up his lie. Alessandra, on the other hand, also continued to force their parents to fund so that she could launch her restaurant.
In the midst of everything, Ana and Carlo wanted to be completely honest with them, but they were still frightened of losing their affection, so Ana lied once more to cover for their previous lie. In order to avoid giving them the money, she made up Carlo’s illness and gave them an excuse that Carlo needed the consultation of doctors, for which they would have to go abroad. They could have provided their children with everything they needed to make them happy, but they weren’t even able to collect money from their security deposits. Ana was forced to lie once more, but this time she couldn’t get away with that. Their deception finally came to light when Emilio accidentally found that they were fabricating their vacation to Paris. When the truth finally surfaced, Alessandra and Emilio’s dreams were torn apart. Alessandra may have wanted to leave her boyfriend’s dental clinic to work freely, but her hopes were dashed, just as they were for Emilio, who was fired from his job. They were unable to tolerate the idea that their parents had misled them regarding their health. They abandoned their parents, but they quickly came to realize what a mistake it was.
After what happened, Ana and Carlo didn’t anticipate that their children would join them for Christmas. They believed Alessandra and Emilio would only do so if they could guarantee their financial security. However, they were also mistaken in the end. Alessandra and Emilio learned how deserted their parents had felt when they left them. They had a conversation with their grandmother, who actually held the inheritance that aunt Tea had left. They didn’t worry too much and forgave their parents. On Christmas Eve, they joined their parents, and the movie concluded with a joyful yet clever and comical ending that felt fresh and funny.
Final Words
A perfect balance of humor and emotion is delivered in “The Price of Family” by competent performance and a fairly good storyline. Although the plot was rather simple, it had the potential to draw in and amuse its intended audience. The film portrays how vulnerable elderly couples become after losing their children’s affection. The film shows that although both the parents and the children had committed mistakes, they eventually came to embrace one another in order to preserve their relationship. At the end of the day, even without the financial commitments, a little appreciation and acceptance had the power to keep a family together, and that’s what this film is about.
