Parents' Guide to

I Melt with You

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Depressing story of drug-addled men has no appeal.

Movie R 2011 122 minutes
I Melt with You Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

Jaclyn S.
Jaclyn S. Adult
March 16, 2018
age 18+

This title has:

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Four fortysomething friends meet at a beach house for their annual reunion and to celebrate one friend's birthday. Richard (Thomas Jane) is a former writer who's now a teacher, Jonathan (Rob Lowe) is a shady doctor who's probably addicted to drugs, Ron (Jeremy Piven) is a businessman trapped in a bad deal, and Tim (Christian McKay) blames himself for his lover's death. The four men regress to college-age behavior -- binging on alcohol and drugs -- and try to bury their pain, regret, and misery. Unfortunately, a suicide brings to light a forgotten pact that they made 25 years earlier. Will this old promise come back to haunt them?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

Director Mark Pellington creates a vivid bond between four realistic characters, and in the process coaxes four painfully revealing performances. The actors really earned their paychecks here. And (not surprisingly considering that Pelington is a part-time music video director) the movie has some great songs -- by the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Stone Roses, etc. -- from the era in which the men might have first met.





But that's where the good stuff ends. Pellington's camera zooms in on the characters' bleary, ravaged faces and makes sure that their long partying binge doesn't look even the least bit attractive. That's fine, but the actual result is sad, pathetic, anxious, and depressing. And then, at the halfway point, things take a turn for the worse. If only Pellington could have found some kind of balance, offered some relief from time to time, then he might have had an intriguing study of middle-aged men in crisis instead of this grim, often ludicrous cautionary tale.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the characters' use of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. Does the movie glamorize drinking, drugging, and smoking? What consequences do characters face?

  • Is there any way these characters could have found help -- or hope? What resources do people have when they feel at the end of their rope?

  • Do you think the young characters will grow up to be as disillusioned as the older ones? Does the movie have anything positive to say?

Movie Details

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