Just Another Dream
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Predictable, clunky thriller has some scares, violence.
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Just Another Dream
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Dreamer
What's the Story?
In JUST ANOTHER DREAM, Anna is a teen girl who has experienced visions of the future in her dreams since she was hit in the head with a baseball and knocked unconscious as a child. Lately, her dreams have become more intense, and when she claims to have had a nightmare about a bank robbery and murder the night before it actually happens, her mother (Kristy Swanson) refuses to believe her, and takes her to a mental health facility to find out what's really going on with Anna. Trapped in this facility, Anna gets treatment from Dr. Jenkins (Dean Cain), but nobody believes the things she sees in her dreams. The only person who believes her is her best friend, Josh. While she begins to get along with the other kids in the facility, all Anna wants to do is escape, and when she has a horrific nightmare involving her mother getting into a minivan accident, she relies on Josh's help to get her out of the facility to stop the accident before it's too late.
Is It Any Good?
This is just another movie about a teen with paranormal abilities, and a bad one at that. Just Another Dream is a clunky movie with a clichéd storyline, overused character types, and the expected foray into what changes when one alters fate and destiny. It doesn't take long for the flashbacks and nightmare scenes to grow tiresome, and the plot twist at the end is as predictable as they come. The acting from the main characters isn't horrible, but the quality quickly tapers off when we get to the minor characters. It's a cheesy movie, one that tells a story that has appeared in so many other movies.
Perhaps the best that can be said about Just Another Dream is how it depicts kids and teens struggling with mental illness. While lead character Anna is quick to dismiss those she meets while staying in a mental health facility as "crazy," there's an attempt to show these kids as something more than the shallow and/or cruel depictions in the past of those with mental illness. There are some attempts at humor with the interactions between Anna and these kids, but, thankfully, the humor isn't rooted in mockery. This almost makes up for the poor quality of the movie overall, and the beyond-overused stereotype of the Native American character with "mystical powers" who sees in Anna's nightmare visions that the other adults don't.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the Native American character in Just Another Dream. Was it a stereotyped character, or was it a positive representation? Why? Why are stereotypes harmful?
In the scenes that took place inside the mental health facility for kids, how were mentally ill kids represented? Were they represented with dignity and respect, or did it seem like the movie was making fun of mental illness? How has mental illness been represented in movies and television, in the past and now?
What are some other examples of movies in which kids have visions in which they're able to see the future?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 15, 2021
- Cast: Kristy Swanson , Dean Cain , Kayden Bryce
- Director: Paul Schneider
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Vision Films
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters
- Run time: 91 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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