Common Sense Media Review
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Drama busts drug rehab scam; sex, language, smoking, more.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Body Brokers
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In BODY BROKERS, Utah (Jack Kilmer) and Opal (Alice Englert) are unhoused and dependent on drugs in rural Ohio, doing whatever they have to in order to get the substances their bodies crave. They meet Wood (Michael Kenneth Williams), a kind stranger passing through town who offers them a glamorous way to get cleaned up: a flight to California and a stay at a 30-day addiction treatment center, free of charge. As Utah works hard to achieve sobriety, he starts to become aware that the rehab facilities -- the kind that run commercials all day long -- are a revolving door, treating the same patients over and over.
Is It Any Good?
John Swab's snappy insurance fraud drama claims that one of the few things that's more addictive than drugs is capitalism. With shades of The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short, this fictional parable is intermittently interrupted by snarky voice-over. Stacking statistics that are intended to shock, it spotlights a scam that's arisen in recent years to take advantage of a well-intentioned mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
Using a storytelling style similar to movies about the mob, Body Brokers introduces us to substance-dependent lovebirds Utah and Opal in Cleveland. Their souls are connected through their pursuit of the next hit. When a seemingly caring stranger offers them a way out, Utah leaps at the opportunity -- not because of any moral shortcuts he's taken through life, but because he's tired of the difficult grind. Opal stays behind, sure that Utah is making a mistake by choosing rehab over a life of holdups and sex work to pay for drugs. Using his own personal story as a guiding device, writer-director Swab lulls viewers into a hopeful example of someone overcoming the odds ... and then sporadically punches us in the face with the realities of the film's world. Body Brokers castigates the rehab facility industry while maintaining a nonjudgmental attitude about substance abuse. The result is that the film is enlightening rather than preachy, and teen viewers are likely to come to the conclusion that starting drugs could easily lead to a sad end.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the impact of substance dependency, in real life and as depicted in the media. The writer-director of Body Brokers wrote the story based on his experiences as a self-proclaimed "street junkie." Does that lend the film credibility?
How does the film turn mundane information into something intriguing? Teens: Are there any school subjects you can think of in which more engaging storytelling might help you learn the material?
Do you think the film's portrayal of drug use and smoking is glamorized? Are there realistic consequences? Why does that matter?
Do you think what the "body brokers" do is illegal or immoral? Where's the line? If a job is legal and pays you big money, why should you be concerned about the immorality of your responsibilities?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : April 20, 2021
- Cast : Jack Kilmer , Michael Kenneth Williams , Frank Grillo
- Director : John Swab
- Studio : Vertical Entertainment
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 111 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong drug content, pervasive language and some sexual content
- Last updated : January 21, 2022
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