Lauren complains about the date to her best friend Jen (Wendi McLendon-Covey). We learn that Lauren is divorced, and she wishes she could have tried harder to make the marriage work.
Jim works at Dick's Sporting Goods with his buddy Doug (Shaquille O'Neal) and he has three daughters - Hilary (Bella Thorne), who is mistaken for a boy frequently due to her tomboyish appearance (it doesn't help that Jim refers to her as Larry); Espn (Emma Fuhrmann), who claims to be able to talk to her deceased mother and is also named after Jim's favorite channel; and Lou (Alyvia Alyn Lind), who is wild and adorable. She also misses her mother.
Brendan has a crush on Tracy, and he cut a picture of her head and taped it to a centerfold. Tyler plays Little League baseball but is not very good and throws tantrums when he plays poorly. Lauren's ex-husband Mark (Joel McHale) shows up every now and then, with the boys expecting him to spend time with them, but he always blows them off for work. Brendan is especially protective of his mother not seeing other men, getting defensive when going through his mother's email to find out about Jim.
Jim and Lauren run into each other at the store, when Jim needed to grab tampons for Hilary and Lauren wanted to replace the centerfold pic since she tore it up. They argue again and leave.
Jim goes to Lauren's house since the lady at the store mixed up their credit cards. Jen comes in complaining that she broke up with her boyfriend Dick because he has five kids and he wanted her to meet them on their planned trip to Africa. Jim learns that Jen's boyfriend is also his boss, so while Lauren asks Jen to let her go on the trip, Jim calls Dick to ask him to sell the trip to him. Both Jim and Lauren excitedly exclaim that they're going to Africa with their kids.
Both families arrive in Africa, and neither Jim nor Lauren is happy to see the other. To make things more awkward, they are put in a romantic suite, while the kids stay in their own room.
The families are put together for a "blended familymoon", where they get together with other couples, including the very oversexed Eddy (Kevin Nealon) and Ginger (Jessica Lowe), as well as Eddy's teenage son Jake (Zak Henri), with whom Hilary is smitten. Their host is Mfana (Abdoulaye NGom), while they are frequently followed by the African performer Nickens (Terry Crews) and his band.
The kids make an awkward impression with each other, with Brendan calling his mom "hot," and the others not knowing how to react to Espn acting like her mom is there with her. Over time, they begin to bond with each other and each other's parents. When Hilary tries to catch Jake's attention, however, Jim embarrasses her during a basketball game, causing her to run away crying.
To Lauren's horror, Jim takes Tyler to ride ostriches. Jim is thrown off the ostrich, but Tyler claims he is having the best day of his life. When the boy wants to go parasailing, Lauren opts to try it out first. She enjoys herself until the van pulling her runs out of gas. Jim tells her to move her legs to make the landing easier, and the parachute knocks him down.
Before dinner, Lauren brings Hilary to a salon to get a makeover to impress Jake. She comes out looking very beautiful, and she indeed catches Jake's eye, although Jim is not happy with Lauren trying to manage his daughter. They argue briefly, making everyone at the table leave.
Jim and Lauren warm up to each other as time passes. They inadvertently get together for a couples massage and have fun with each other while Eddy and Ginger fool around inappropriately. Afterwards, Lou asks Lauren to put her to bed. She does so and sings "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" with Espn and Hilary listening in as well. She kisses them goodnight and leaves.
Jim bonds with Lauren's boys by practicing playing ball with Tyler, using a cricket bat and with the help of Dale Steyn. The boy manages to hit the ball on his third try. Jim then does some boxing with Brendan since he knows the boy wants to take out some frustration on him.
On the last night on the trip, Lauren puts on a beautiful black dress that she admired earlier which Jen bought (actually stole) for her. She wears it that evening, stunning everyone. Jim and Lauren are sat down for a romantic dinner while the kids are having fun. A little band of monkeys entertain the couple. They nearly kiss but Jim pulls back, unable to do it.
Everybody returns home. Lauren laments not getting to be with Jim, and then she finds out that Jen is giving Dick a second chance, now willing to meet his kids. Hilary is keeping in touch with Jake, even though he lives in Vancouver. Jim realizes he misses Lauren and that he's fallen in love with her. Although Espn is not fully ready to move on from her mother's passing, she also doesn't want her dad to lose Lauren. At the kids' behest, Jim goes to Lauren's house to give her flowers, only to find Mark there, pretending to be back with Lauren. Tyler gets excited to see Jim and wants to play ball, but Jim sadly leaves and Mark bails on his son again. Mark later tries to make a move on Lauren, but she refuses since he has continuously failed to be a good father.
That following Saturday, Lauren and Brendan go to support Tyler at his game, along with Jen, Dick and his kids. Mark, once again, is a no-show. Jim and his daughters arrive to show encouragement, inspiring Tyler to hit the ball. Although he has no idea what he's doing, he makes it all the way back to home base, allowing his team to win. His teammates cheer and carry Tyler proudly. Jim then finds Lauren and they admit to wanting to be together, and they finally kiss, to the happiness of their kids.
I watched this movie a few days ago and I absolutely loved it! I laughed a lot. I'm sure everybody will enjoy this show.
Love,
popstarprincess
credits: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_(film)
