Johnson managed to perfectly blend dark comedy with serious subject matter in The Skeleton Twins, but here he can't find that delicate balance. (texasartfilm.net)
Maintaining tonal cohesion between comic relief and more serious subject matter in a family film is a tricky tight rope, granted, but How to Train Your Dragon 2 makes the mistake of assuming that the key to balance is constantly fluctuating between two extremes, never quite deciding concretely just what direction it wants to go in. (thecriticalcritics.com)
A diversion into serious subject matter for Austin Powers and Meet the Parents director Jay Roach, the film co-stars John Goodman, Diane Lane, Elle Fanning, Helen Mirren and Louis CK. (theguardian.com)