Parents' Guide to

Bowling for Columbine

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Must-see gun violence documentary is brutal.

Movie R 2002 120 minutes
Bowling for Columbine Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all
age 14+

Based on 6 parent reviews

Rarityfan2019
Rarityfan2019 Adult
October 1, 2019
age 15+

let's go Bowl

A look back at the Columbine shooting 20 years ago. Still actual 20 years later.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Lowe's man
Lowe's man Adult
June 28, 2016
age 16+

incomplete but still informative

I watched this movie looking for answers about what triggered this particular mass shooting. I didn't get an answer there like I was hoping to, but I did get some answers to the problem of gun violence in general. Michael Moore is not unbiased, as he is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. To see a member of the NRA strongly favor stricter gun laws is commendable all by itself. Moore obviously sees the gun issue from both sides. Watching this movie may or may not give you all the answers you're looking for, but it will give you some. This movie is depressing but needed.
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary examines gun violence in America. Moore interviews a wide range of Americans, including shock-rock star Marilyn Manson (whose music was tied to the two boys responsible for the Columbine High School massacre), NRA leader Charlton Heston, the brother of Terry Nichols (Timothy McVeigh's co-conspirator), and many others. Moore is deeply concerned and the ultimate bleeding heart liberal, but he is not an ideologue. He learned to shoot in high school and is a life member of the NRA. When a bank gives him a rifle for opening a new account, he casually checks the action while he asks if anyone ever considered that maybe guns and banks were not the best possible combination. Much of the time he lets the story tell itself, but sometimes, Moore becomes the story, as when he brings two young survivors of the Columbine shooting to K-Mart's national headquarters to protest their selling of ammunition, including the bullets still in the bodies of the two young men. After a day of deliberation, a K-Mart spokeswoman reads a statement.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (18):

Any documentary about gun violence in America in which the single most intelligent and insightful comment is made by a guy named after a dead beauty queen and a serial killer is worth a look. This documentary is more mosaic than polemic and mordantly funny, though it does veer a bit over the top when Moore tries to link television producer Dick Clark to the murder of a six-year-old by a six-year-old, because the boy who killed his classmate had a mother who worked at one of Clark's restaurants in a welfare-to-work program. And his relentless questioning of a clearly memory-impaired Charlton Heston, leaving a photo of the murdered girl in Heston's home after Heston stalks out of the interview, has the unintended result of making Heston seem more sympathetic.

But Moore's movie confronts complex questions fearlessly, even as it acknowledges that it does not have the answers. Why do our fellow North Americans in Canada, who have proportionately the same number of guns, shoot each other only one-tenth as often? Why are Americans fearful even out of proportion to the amount of violence we subject ourselves to?

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the questions Moore raises. Why do Americans shoot each other so much more often than any other country? Why don't Canadians lock their front doors? Why was Moore successful in persuading K-Mart not to sell ammunition any more?

  • What kind of filmmaker is Michael Moore? What do you think he leaves out of his movies? Have you heard any criticism of his methods?

  • What can you do to try to reduce violence or to change other things that matter to you? What different avenues do people use to affect change?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate