Parents' Guide to

Demolition

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Uneven dramedy about mourning has mature content.

Movie R 2016 100 minutes
Demolition Poster Image

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What's the Story?

Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal), who works for his father-in-law (Chris Cooper) in a financial firm, is devastated when his wife, Julia (Heather Lind), dies in a car accident. Distracted, Davis tries to buy a snack from the hospital vending machine, which steals his money; he ends up writing letters to the manufacturer's complaint department, telling his entire life story. To his surprise, Karen Moreno (Naomi Watts) -- a company representative who was moved by his letters -- calls him. Davis forms a strange friendship with her and with her confused son, Chris (Judah Lewis). He also becomes obsessed with taking things apart, from the household appliances to eventually the house itself. Can Davis get in touch with what's missing from his heart?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (4):

Only about halfway successful, this quirky drama has fine performances and many moments of appealing sweetness, but it also suffers from ill-fitting tonal choices and heavy-handed metaphors. The story and themes are strikingly similar to those of the bittersweet dramedy About Schmidt, but in DEMOLITION, director Jean-Marc Vallee -- whose films (The Young Victoria, Dallas Buyers Club, Wild) are usually pitched at Oscar voters -- opts for hand-held cinematography with a grayish, overcast feel, nullifying most of the potential comedy or warmth.

Vallee ticks off the appropriate points on the main character arc's, but he fails to discover who Davis actually is. Where we should find sympathy for Davis' mourning, we're instead slightly alarmed by his behavior. The actors often rise above the material through sheer personality and goodwill, but then the use of metaphor kicks into high gear, and the movie leaves us with more message than feeling.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Demolition's violence. How does it impact the story? Does it take you out of the story, or bring you deeper into it? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Is Davis' expression of grief unusual? Is it OK to mourn differently from the "usual" ways? What other movies and TV shows can you think of that have handled the grieving process?

  • How do you feel about the teen character's swearing, smoking, and drinking? Is it glorified? Does he seem to enjoy it, or are there other reasons for the behavior?

  • Why do you think Karen smokes pot? What does she get out of it? What is she trying to fix?

  • What does the "demolition" metaphor mean in the story? Why does the character break things?

Movie Details

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