Director Craig Johnson has two features that I really like to his name – 2014’s The Skeleton Twins, an astute and emotionally heartfelt story about estranged siblings who reconnect after years apart, and 2018’s Alex Strangelove, a very sweet queer coming of age rom com. So, I was predisposed to enjoy his latest feature, The Parenting, which is receiving a streaming-only release on Max. The Parenting is a deeply stupid movie, and yet I found myself really enjoying it for a lot of the time, sometimes in spite of myself, or in spite of it. It’s hard to explain why, but this one was for me.

Twenty-something gay couple Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) have rented an Airbnb in the countryside for a weekend getaway where they can introduce their parents to each other. Rohan’s adoptive parents Sharon (Edie Falco) and Frank (Brian Cox) are more uptight and less easygoing than Josh’s parents Liddy (Lisa Kudrow) and Cliff (Dean Norris). The house’s owner Brenda (Parker Posey) elicited suspicion about the house before the parents even arrived. And as the three couples spend time getting to know each other, it becomes glaringly apparent they’re not alone in that house.

The Parenting is a case where any criticism you could throw at it is probably true, but I still had a good time anyway. Maybe it helps that it’s something I clicked on while I was on my couch in my pajamas in the middle of a rainy Saturday afternoon, maybe I was just in the mood for something like this. The script from Saturday Night Live head writer Kent Sublette is full of plot holes and story elements that are either dropped, come out of nowhere, or don’t quite make sense. It’s heavy on the camp, light on the horror, and feels rather slight and maybe a little beneath everyone in it. But with a cast this good, almost none of it really matters.

The Parenting has so many things I like. A very cute queer love story with Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn – two charming and engaging actors I already know and like, who are giving their all to this silly concept, and you end up actually caring about these people and rooting for them to emerge triumphant on the other side of this situation. It also has a deliriously campy horror/comedy tone, and Parker Posey doing crazy accent work and wearing multiple crazy wigs – often at the same time. It’s a good time to be a Parker Posey fan between this and The White Lotus.

We also have TV vets Edie Falco, Brian Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris getting a rare chance to goof on the absurdity presented to them, and it’s clear everyone here is having a blast. We also have some gross-out practical horror effects that work and some real tension that comes from the claustrophobia of never leaving this house. The viewer could easily imagine this as a stage play, and there are few things I love more than a filmed play.

There’s just so much here that is decidedly for me, and I was having enough fun to forgive (or at least ignore) what doesn’t work about The Parenting. And there’s plenty that doesn’t work – the wildly stupid script, the rules Sublette sets up for it that abandon logic, and the resolution that felt half baked. It’s just so much fun to spend some time with a bunch of actors I like, who must have had a really fun time filming this. I say this is good for a film you could watch on your couch, but if I went to the theater for this, I probably would’ve left with a big ol’ smile on my face.

And running at a tight 90 minutes, The Parenting doesn’t overstay its welcome or become overly grating. And in a time when we have more challenging films and TV competing for and demanding our time, it feels like a joyful experience to watch something that’s a bit slight and never takes itself too seriously. It doesn’t stand up to criticism, and I’ll admit maybe you shouldn’t go by me on this one, but if any of this sounds like something you’d enjoy, you just might.

The Parenting is now steaming on Max.