I read Kurt Dahlke's DVD review of 2012 at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=41627 and...

While I appreciated the review overall, I was taken aback at the supposition that "Perhaps since Cusack himself doesn't have kids, he's never able to connect his otherwise bachelor-esque character with the moppets." He's an ACTOR. His profession is pretending to be someone he's not. If actors could only portray what they had direct experience with, we'd be a darn sight poorer in genres.

You're absolutely right, and of course I know that. And I consider Cusack to be a good actor, so was casting about for reasons as to why he didn't seem to be able to pull this role off.

I guess it was just his choice to play the part as a 'good guy uncle' type as subtext for his failed marriage.

However, my limited experience from the other side of the parenting coin leads me to believe that it's one of those singular experiences you can't explain, understand, or fully relate to until you've been there.