Parents' Guide to It's a Lot

IT'S A LOT is a slickly put-together film with fast pacing, clever editing, and a thumping soundtrack, but the weight of all that shiny packaging leaves it flailing in the shallow end. In this world, teenagers are caricatures of self-obsession: mean-spirited, cruel, taunting, and only interested in money, partying, and popularity. No one studies, takes classes, or concerns themselves with anything but jockeying for position, and this happens at the local community college, as opposed to the posh, out-of-touch private school our protagonist has left behind for more authentic experiences. Perhaps the message is that there are good and bad people everywhere, no matter how much money they have, or that the poor can be just as shallow as the wealthy. And there are some attempts to stress the importance of leaving behind a legacy or doing good with money, but that abrupt departure comes far too late to feel very authentic.

Plus, there are so many shallow characters and so much crudeness for the sake of it -- not to mention the drugs, partying, sexual suggestiveness, and materialist attitudes -- that even the nice messages are easily clouded by all the pot smoke and hedonism. Additionally, a lot of troubling behavior is never addressed, such as the underage partying or a high school-age girl making out with what looks to be a fifth grader. There's a lot here for discussion about teenage life, class, and community but too much to sort out to get there easily.