Parents' Guide to

Careful What You Wish For

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Nick Jonas stars in clichéd thriller with sex, language.

Movie R 2016 91 minutes
Careful What You Wish For Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

Blanca M.
Blanca M. Adult
November 15, 2016
age 18+

Careful what you wish for

I'm not gonna lie... I'm a huge Nick Jonas fan!! I honestly don't know how to feel about this movie. I mean it had it's good parts but it just didn't come off as original. I've seen other movies with similar plots so it was very predictable!! Still a Nick Jonas fan and his sex scenes were awesome lol js

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

High school student Doug (Nick Jonas) gets involved with his wealthy neighbor's attractive young wife, Lena (Isabel Lucas). And when her husband (Dermot Mulroney) turns up dead, Doug soon becomes involved in much more than he expected. While Lena is poised to collect a huge life-insurance payout, Doug realizes that all signs make him look like the killer -- so he must try to clear his name.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

There's little that's a mystery in the purposefully mysterious Careful What You Wish For -- and there's also very little that's original. "You have no idea what he's capable of," says one character. (Actually, yes, we do.) Equally troubling is the film's sexism; it relies on cliches about high school boys and older women, as well as attractive younger women and the older men they marry. Jonas is a sort-of bright spot -- although the material leaves much to be desired, he shows some promise with his fairly grounded (if muted) portrayal of Doug.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Careful What You Wish For compares to other thrillers with similar themes. What makes them thrilling? Does a film have to be violent to have tension?

  • Did you notice any cliches and/or stereotypes in the movie about older women and younger men? And about younger women married to older men?

  • What do you think Lena is trying to accomplish? Is it a good plan? Could Doug have made better choices?

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