Common Sense Media Review
By Renee Schonfeld
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Laugh-free black comedy about revenge against men.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
ExTerminators
What's the Story?
Soon after she loses her job and her boyfriend, a distraught Alexandra Case (Heather Graham) punches an obnoxious man in a department store. When she's ordered to attend an anger management class for her "crime," Alex meets a gaggle of misfit women with severe temper control problems of their own, including Kim (Joey Lauren Adams), a victim of spousal abuse. In trying to protect her, Alex, along with Stella (Jennifer Coolidge) and Nikki (Amber Heard) inadvertently cause the death of Kim's abusive husband. What begins as a tragic accident leads to new, very lucrative assignments for Stella's successful "pest" extermination business. But Alex is suspicious of her friends, and when she falls in love with one of the police detectives investigating the murders, she faces a terrible moral dilemma. Enter the IRS agent who's been stalking Alex; soon, literal mayhem ensues.
Is It Any Good?
Terminally slow-paced, unfunny, and cliche-ridden, EXTERMINATORS misses on almost every level. The sketchily drawn characters give the actors little to work with, and even the usually likeable Graham falls flat. It's a fantastical story, but it's delivered in charmless, clumsy fits and starts. Motivation and logic give way to happenstance and silly behavior. The film is risque without being sexy, comically exaggerated without being funny, and talky without being intelligent.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stereotyping in movies. Most of the men in this film are portrayed as bumbling, mean, dishonest, or sexually obsessed. How does that differ from your experience with the men you know?
This film is categorized as a "black" comedy or "dark" comedy. What does this description tell you about what you can expect to see? What other black comedies have you enjoyed?
Did Alex actually learn anything about self-control in the anger management group she attended? What are some ways you've learned to deal with your own anger?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 2, 2010
- Cast : Heather Graham , Jennifer Coolidge , Matthew Settle
- Director : John Inwood
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Image Entertainment
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some language and sexual material
- Last updated : July 24, 2022
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