Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Swearing, smoking, drinking in slight but appealing comedy.

Movie NR 2018 87 minutes
Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town Movie: Izzy checks her Facebook page
  • Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town Movie: Izzy tries to get help from Walt
  • Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town Movie: Izzy and George try to figure out what happened last night

Community Reviews

See all
age 16+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Il0vec00kies
Il0vec00kies Adult
February 2, 2020
age 16+

Genuine, pure and balanced

It is great to see the film, where a woman is taking over the narrative, not for a woke-check and not for an oscar-bate, but simply because that is how the story rolls. The characters are written and executed brilliantly and the mood of the film is light and smooth.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Hahahahbigfart
Hahahahbigfart Parent of 18+, 18+, 6, 7 and 17-year-old
September 26, 2018
age 15+

worst movie ever

AVOID IT

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In IZZY GETS THE F*CK ACROSS TOWN, flaky, stuck-in-a-rut Izzy (Mackenzie Davis) wakes up in the bed of a man (Lakeith Stanfield) she barely remembers. They compare notes, and she gathers her clothes (a wine-stained, black-and-white catering uniform) and checks her messages. She's shocked to discover that her ex, Roger (Alex Russell), is having an engagement party (to which she has not been invited), and she immediately decides to crash it. Her car has been with her mechanic friend (Brandon T. Jackson) for weeks and still isn't ready, so she tries other methods to get across town. Izzy begs friends and acquaintances for help, steals a scooter, and gets sidetracked by colorful characters who are even quirkier than she is. Will she reach the party? And if she does, what does her future hold?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (3 ):

There's very little at stake in this spunky little indie comedy, and that's part of its charm. Davis is endearing, and the SoCal locations and characters are warmly, lazily quirky. Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town is a mini-quest, a hangover-induced micro-odyssey that encompasses little more than wandering around and having a weird day. But Christian Papierniak, making his feature-writing and directing debut, keeps the stakes just high enough to keep Izzy in a state of perpetual "I can't believe this." She's a flake, and most of her misfortune is her own fault, but she seems to realize that; her truthfulness is appealing.

Papierniak's choice of supporting actors and their own unusual situations is inspired, including Stanfield as a seductive helicopter pilot, Haley Joel Osment as a softie who's fallen in love with his one-night stand, Alia Shawkat as that one-night stand, and Annie Potts as a kind of neighborhood soothsayer. Though the story is romantically motivated, Papierniak avoids fairy-tale fluff and digs right into the heart of the matter. The movie truly comes alive when Izzy encounters her sister (Carrie Coon) and the two play a song together; the crossing close-ups of the women and the fury of the song come enticingly close to revealing Izzy's whole heart.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town depicts drinking and smoking. Are they glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

  • How is sex portrayed? Do partners seem to trust one another? Is there fidelity or cheating? What values are imparted?

  • Is Izzy a strong character? What are her flaws? How does she change or grow over the course of the story?

  • What do you think is keeping Izzy from pursuing her dream as a musician? Have you ever had a dream that you didn't pursue for certain reasons?

  • How did the strong language in this movie affect you? Was it funny? Too much?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

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.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate