Parents' Guide to

Apartment Troubles

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Quirky roommates make poor choices in unfunny comedy.

Movie NR 2015 95 minutes
Apartment Troubles Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 15+

Based on 1 parent review

wonder dove
wonder dove Adult
May 26, 2015
age 15+

Quirky comedy, not bad!

I actually liked this indie movie, I wasn't sure at first but realized it was actually quite fun. It's funny in a very quirky way, characters act silly most of the time but it also had a sense of realness to it. Nicole (Jess Weixler) and Olivia (Jennifer Prediger) are best friends and artists who live in an apartment together but struggle to pay the rent; with a dead cat, no electricity or food, they decide to go to LA to visit Nicole's rich aunt, Kimberley who is the host of a reality show and makes moves on Olivia. Olivia secretly loves Nicole but never comes forward about it, their friendship is then tested especially after a taro card reading that states the girls must lose everything and start over. In the end, Olivia gets an acting job and the two separate, but realize they've only lost emotionally and that when one door closes, another one opens. It has some great messages, you just need to look over the sarcasm the film demonstrates. Violence is mild with a shouting match between friends, some arguing throughout, a cat is shown dead. Language has a few f-words, sh*t, @ss. Sexual content is mild and shows an older woman hitting on a younger woman by trying to kiss her - they kiss once. A woman kisses her old landlord hoping she doesn't have to pay rent. Prescription pills are sometimes taken, one character gets very drunk. OK for viewers 15+.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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What's the Story?

APARTMENT TROUBLES follows unemployed artists Nicole (Jess Weixler) and Olivia (Jennifer Prediger), who live in an illegal Manhattan sublet and can't be bothered to pay either the electric bill or the rent. When their landlord (Jeffrey Tambor) gives them an ultimatum, Nicole comes up with a plan to get away from their titular problems: use her rich father's company jet to fly to Los Angeles and stay with her beloved Aunt Kimberley (Megan Mullally), a producer and judge on a popular reality talent show. Aunt Kimberley welcomes the women to her home and begins to subtly -- and later overtly -- make passes at Olivia.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

This movie is neither funny nor memorable. The popularity of TV shows like Girls and Broad City makes it clear that there's an audience ready and willing to watch young, wandering hipsters humorously fumble their way through adulthood -- but the two women at the heart of this film (they're not only the stars but also the co-writers and directors) wrote the wrong material to highlight their talents. The actresses' characters are so unlikable and unrelatable that it's painful to watch.

Even usually amusing actors fall flat in this movie. Will Forte pops up as a man who offers Nicole and Olivia a ride from the airport to Aunt Kimberley's house, except he quickly goes from Good Samaritan to high and stalkerish. He's cringe-worthy and surprisingly humorless considering his laugh-out-loud performances in other comedies, like The Last Man on Earth and Saturday Night Live. By the time Nicole and Olivia present their multimedia spoken-word performance as an audition for Kimberley's reality show, the audience, like the judges, will wonder when the audition -- and the movie itself -- will end.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about who this movie is intended to appeal to. What's it's target audience? How can you tell?

  • Do you think Nicole and Olivia can be considered role models? Why or why not? Is their story believable?

  • How is the reality show in the movie reminiscent of real televised talent shows? What do you think the filmmakers are trying to say about them?

  • Talk about the popularity of actor-writer-directors making their own movies. What's the appeal to young performers to do it all?

Movie Details

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