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Parents' Guide to

For Jojo

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Jealous woman destroys friend's happiness; sex, language.

Movie NR 2022 90 minutes
For Jojo

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • For Jojo Movie: Scene # 1
  • For Jojo Movie: Scene # 2
  • For Jojo Movie: Scene # 3

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What's the Story?

In FOR JOJO, best friends Paula (Caro Cult) and Jojo (Nina Gummich) grew up together on a remote German island and have brought their insular friendship to Berlin where they live together, drink, and have sex with random men, who they seem to use and throw away. Paula has anger issues, attention-span issues, and authority issues, all of which led to her giving up on life after she failed her law school exams. Now she takes jobs forced on her by the unemployment office, the latest at a bowling alley. Jojo takes a job in Mexico and when Paula drops her at the airport they run into another childhood friend, Daniel (Steven Sowa). Paula, needily hogging Jojo's attention, rudely tries to ignore him, but she's powerless to interfere as they disembark together and fall in love in Mexico. When they return, it's to marry and return to their hometown. Paula treats Daniel like dirt, but insists on moving with them in the hope of breaking them up. She does everything she can to make that happen.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1 ):

For Jojo is a baffling movie. The title itself suggests that the selfish, inconsiderate, borderline insane actions taken by the film's deranged character Paula could in some way be construed as "for" the benefit of anyone, never mind "for" the person whose happiness she does everything to sabotage. This portrait of a toxic friendship goes up to the edge of the horror genre then pulls back into a tale of ordinary neediness and nastiness. Paula's actions and persona are insufferable and juvenile, simply incomprehensible in an adult. Most of her actions mimic a 4-year-old's behavior, only saying so is unfair to 4-year-olds, most of whom know better.

Gratuitous sexual scenes in which two women drunkenly have sex with and then whimsically toss out seemingly interchangeable men doesn't help to foster audience support or empathy for two callous women. The impersonal nature of the sex is confusing because it suggests the pair might be sex workers, which turns out not to be the case. When one goes away and returns altered by the experience of falling in love, the other, still stuck in stunted childishness, basically throws a fit that railroads the next nearly unwatchable 70 minutes. The ending is unexpected because only minutes before we are told the opposite will happen. Did the writer lose the script? Did the director forget the plot? Watch it and see if you care.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what the filmmakers are trying to say about the life the two main characters lead.

  • Why do you think Jojo remains friends with Paula?

  • Do you think Paula is meant to be portrayed as a mentally ill person, or just as an annoying one? Why?

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.

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