Parents' Guide to

Josie

By Michael Ordona, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Shallow noir thriller has strong language, drinking.

Movie NR 2018 100 minutes
Josie 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 1 parent review

dvdgirl
dvdgirl Adult
January 3, 2019
age 13+

Eh ok

It’s alright just watched it once , but the crush was a lot better

This title has:

Great messages
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

JOSIE's main character is a down-on-his-luck school security guard without a uniform named Hank (Dylan McDermott) -- your basic quiet man with a dark past. Into his small existence in a Southern residential motel comes Josie (Sophie Turner), a pretty blonde teen on her own who moves in across from him. Both Hank and his teen-jerk nemesis, Marcus (Jack Kilmer), fall for Josie, who shows an interest in both of them. This is a noir-like thriller, so it's safe to say there's trouble ahead.

Is It Any Good?

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

Unfortunately, not only is this crime drama's climax not sufficiently thought through, but Josie's entire gimmick is given away in the first act. Despite the presence of skilled actors like McDermott (LA to Vegas) and Turner (Game of Thrones and the more recent X-Men movies), Josie's characters aren't defined beyond types that are too familiar within the noir genre: quiet man with a past, Lolita-esque jailbait/femme fatale. So while the actors have their moments -- Turner is especially good in a sequence in which she coolly tells a series of lies about herself -- we never get invested. Hank is a security guard with no uniform or authority. Marcus is a generically misbehaved punk. The climax is so riddled with logical holes that it generates more annoyance than interest.

Noir is a genre that keeps proving it still has plenty to offer, from the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple and Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat in the '80s to the more recent L.A. Confidential, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, No Country for Old Men, and many others. But in Josie, the exercise is too general, slow-moving, and lightly considered to involve viewers deeply or leave them with something to take home.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the things that crime dramas and film noir movies tend to have in common. Which elements of Josie have you seen in other films of this type? Are you familiar with the concept of the "femme fatale"?

  • Were you surprised by the outcome, or was it suggested early on?

  • Are any of the characters role models? Why or why not?

  • How does the movie show teen drinking/substance use? Is it glamorized at all?

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