We here at Collider are happy to present an exclusive clip from Jason Bateman’s latest directorial effort, The Family Fang. The longtime actor made his feature directorial debut with the 2013 comedy Bad Words, but for his follow-up, he took on an ambitious adaptation of the darkly funny Kevin Wilson novel The Family Fang. Bateman stars in the film alongside Nicole Kidman as the children of two celebrated New York performance artists who, now in adulthood, struggle to come to terms with the effect their parents had on their lives. Complicating matters is the fact that their parents, played by Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett, suddenly go missing, with the siblings at odds as to whether this is another stunt or if their parents are actually in peril.

This exclusive clip focuses on Walken and Plunkett’s characters, as the film is interspersed with footage from a “documentary” on the work of the performance artists. This clip is itself a clip from that documentary, in which Walken’s character humorously spouts his philosophy on how children can ruin art, with a swell punchline.

I caught the film at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and it’s certainly an admirably ambitious undertaking for Bateman, who must navigate an incredibly tricky tone and various time periods all within one narrative. Check out the clip above. The Family Fang opens in theaters nationwide and on VOD on May 6th.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Family Fang:

Adult siblings Baxter (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Nicole Kidman), scarred from an unconventional upbringing, return to their family home after an unlikely accident. When their parents (Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett) — performance artists famous for elaborate public hoaxes — suddenly go missing under troubling circumstances, Baxter and Annie investigate. Unsure whether it’s foul play or just another elaborate ruse, nothing can prepare them for what they discover.