Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Comedy about parents behaving badly; language, sex, drugs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
A Night at the Kindergarten
What's the Story?
In A NIGHT AT THE KINDERGARTEN, Eryk (Piotr Witkowski) is dating Dorota (Masza Wgrocka), a nurse who works long hours. One night he volunteers to go to her son Tytus' kindergarten PTA meeting to get points with her. The meeting turns out to be a drunken, weed-sodden disaster in which one of the primary goals was to vote on whether to eject the misbehaving Tytus (Marcel Krzeminski) from the school permanently. Suddenly, the irresponsible Eryk becomes Tytus' advocate, pointing out how much more awful the parents at the meeting are than the little boy they're trying to expel. Class is part of the picture, too, as Tytus' mom, whose income is low, doesn't pay full tuition. Parents treat the meeting as a confessional about the trials of being a parent and admit embarrassing feelings under the influence of various mood-altering substances. A parent brings a handgun to the meeting, boasting he has a carry permit. The gun eventually becomes pivotal in a parental confrontation.
Is It Any Good?
A Night at the Kindergarten is especially adept at showing the way that supposedly responsible parents can behave just as childishly and cruelly as their "difficult " kids. However, this gets tedious in scenes in which parents seem to be letting their hair down and "admitting" how they really feel about their kids and how difficult it is to raise them. One woman says, "All kids are stupid and get less stupid" as they grow. She can't wait until hers grows enough so she has "someone to talk to." While Eryk seems to deepen from an irresponsible playboy to someone who begins to understand what Tytus is going through, there's still little in the way of character development or true dramatic interest here.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how childishly the parents behave as they jockey for power in the school's leadership. How does that behavior compare with the bad behavior of the kids who attend the kindergarten?
Do we see growth in the immature boyfriend who attends the meeting on behalf of his girlfriend's child? How does he change?
What is the movie's attitude toward parents who try to help run their children's schools?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 28, 2022
- Cast : Piotr Witkowski , Masza Wgrocka
- Director : Rafael Skalski
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : January 9, 2023
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