Parents' Guide to

Going in Style

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Comedy remake has lovable leads, some language, drugs.

Movie PG-13 2017 96 minutes
Going in Style Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 7 parent reviews

laurencatlett25
laurencatlett25 Adult
June 19, 2021
age 18+

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
lgalvarezg
lgalvarezg Parent of 9-year-old
June 25, 2020
age 13+

Funny but with wrong messages

The movie is quite funny but with xenofobic messages . There is an unfortunate reference that relates a drug dealer as colombian. This is sad.
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

GOING IN STYLE is Zach Braff's remake of Martin Brest's popular 1979 heist comedy starring George Burns, Lee Strasburg, and Art Carney. In this update, Joe (Michael Caine) is at his Brooklyn bank dealing with a foreclosure notice when armed thieves swoop in and rob it. When Joe and his best friends/neighbors Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Al (Alan Arkin) find out that the steel company where they worked for more than 30 years is no longer going to honor their pensions, Joe convinces his pals to rob their bank for exactly what the pension owes them. Thanks to an intro from Joe's former son-in-law, who runs a medical marijuana dispensary, Joe and the guys take bank robbery lessons from a criminal consultant (John Ortiz) whose legitimate business is a local pet shop. Meanwhile, Al starts a romance with beautiful supermarket clerk Annie (Ann-Margret), and Willie tries to hide the fact he needs a kidney transplant.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7):
Kids say (9):

Freeman, Caine, and Arkin's average age might be 82, but they prove that they still have lots to teach younger actors about comedic timing, charm, and on-screen camaraderie in this feel-good remake. Going in Style is a mix of the friendship chemistry in Ocean's Eleven and the morality behind the crime lesson in Hell or High Water (without the excessive violence). Sure, there's a cop -- in this case, an FBI agent played by Matt Dillon -- but this isn't as much a cat-and-mouse crime thriller as it is a humorous look at how three wronged older men decide to take revenge on the company that ruined their retirement.

The three main characters just want to visit their children, have bad coffee and pie at a diner, and finish paying off their mortgages. Arkin is a curmudgeonly delight as a bachelor finding love when he least expected it. Freeman is a sweet grandfather in renal failure who knows his days are limited. And Joe wants to ensure that his daughter and granddaughter can continue living in his house as long they need to. We won't spoil what happens during or after the caper, but we will say that Braff manages to keep the spirit of the original film while making the story even more relevant and giving it the ending it deserves.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the messages of Going in Style. Is it OK to sympathize with characters who are planning a bank robbery? How does their story convey themes of perseverance and teamwork?

  • Who's a role model in this movie? Why does a robbery seem like less of an issue when we know what it's for than when it's just for the sake of making the money?

  • How is sex treated/shown in the movie? Is there a difference between portraying sexuality and romance between seniors and younger couples? Why?

  • Is lying to protect someone OK? Would your answer change if you disagreed with their motives?

  • Why do you think it's novel to have a movie starring/about characters in their 70s?

Movie Details

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