Parents' Guide to Ex-Husbands

Movie NR 2025 99 minutes
Ex-Husbands movie poster: Griffin Dunne sits in the back seat of a car holding a box, next to his two adult sons

Common Sense Media Review

Tara McNamara By Tara McNamara , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Drugs, drinking, swearing in melancholy divorce dramedy.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

In EX-HUSBANDS, Peter Pearce (Griffin Dunne) is reluctantly accepting that his marriage to Maria (Rosanna Arquette) is ending after 35 years. At the same time, his sons, Nick (James Norton) and Mickey (Miles Heizer), are starting their own romantic journeys, but when Peter crashes Nick's bachelor party, it seems that he's not the only Pearce man in crisis. Director Nick Pritzker wrote the film in the aftermath of his own parents' divorce after a long-term marriage.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This is what you might call a "gray comedy"—one that's too depressing and not funny enough to achieve true "black comedy" status. And, in this case, it's also the story of a 67-year-old dentist who sports salt-and-pepper locks (Dunne), so Ex-Husbands is truly fully gray ... which doesn't exactly make it a slam dunk for teen entertainment.

That said, this indie does have some interesting asides. The bachelor party getaway takes place in Tulum, and the beauty of the area is showcased, although the same can't be said for authentic Mexican culture, given that the Pearce men are tourists who are absorbed in their lives and their own activities. It's through that perspective that viewers see Tulum, including the sargassum that covers the beach. It actually makes for a clever visual metaphor for how the men are feeling: adrift with heavy, entangled emotional baggage. While Ex-Husbands isn't likely to satisfy most casual viewers, adults going through similar relationship upheaval may find connection.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way that Ex-Husbands depicts divorce. How does divorce affect kids? Does that change when "the children" become adults?

  • Discuss how Mickey is used to introduce viewers to the challenges he might face as a freshly out gay man. How is his characterization counter-stereotypical?

  • Do you think there are different social expectations for how men process painful emotions versus how women do? How can entertainment be used to change gender expectations?

Movie Details

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Ex-Husbands movie poster: Griffin Dunne sits in the back seat of a car holding a box, next to his two adult sons

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