"Family Stays"

31 October 2025

90s

The good they do.

Setting aside a curious choice for the voiceover, this is a very touching reminder of the fantastic project funded by McDonald's that enables families to use accommodation next to a hospital when a younger member of the family is receiving treatment that requires them to be admitted for an extended spell.

At the end, we learn that the spoken words are a letter written by one family for another, expressing support as well as explaining how staying nearby proves so critical to the well-being of the family.

Director Sara Dunlop infuses the film with tenderness and warmth, and it gives you all the feels. As a counterweight to this brand's understandable reputation as a detached multinational conglomerate, Ronald McDonald House Charities provides considerable ballast. But, framing it that way makes appreciation sound sceptical, and DAVID doesn't think that's an approach we should adopt. At the end of the day, the good that is being done is real and meaningful, and Sara Dunlop has captured it with great love.

USA

Charities