Parental Guidance/Cheaper By the Dozen/Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Triple bill of US comedies. 'Parental Guidance' (2012), produced by and starring Billy Crystal, follows grandparents struggling to come to terms with modern parenting techniques.

When his stressed-out, high-achieving daughter Alice (Marisa Tomei) has to go away on a work trip, Artie and Diane Decker (Crystal and Bette Midler) find themselves in charge of their three grandchildren.

After trying unsuccessfully to implement the 21st-century methods in which their daughter has carefully instructed them, the couple decide to revert to their tried and tested old-school style of parenting. 'Cheaper By the Dozen' (2004), based on the autobiographical book by Frank Gilbreth Jr and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, stars Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt as hardworking parents trying to juggle careers and a household amid the chaos of raising 12 kids.

When Tom (Martin) gets a job in Chicago, he moves the entire family but Kate (Hunt) then has her memoirs published and she has to go on a book tour.

This creates many problems for the children of the Baker family, who react in various ways. 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' (2010) is a family comedy based on Jeff Kinney's best-selling illustrated novel detailing the trials and tribulations of a wise-cracking pre-teen.

Along with his best friend Rowley (Robert Capron), 12-year-old Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) spends his days negotiating the minefield that is middle school: dodging bullies, learning the complex and seemingly ever-changing social codes, grappling with the onset of puberty and attempting to fathom the mysteries of the opposite sex.