Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Mom relentlessly looks for missing daughter; violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Natalee Holloway
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
NATALEE HOLLOWAY tells the now infamous story of the disappearance of an 18-year-old American girl (Amy Gumenick) during a celebratory post-graduation vacation in Aruba. At the news of her disappearance, Natalee's mom, Beth (Tracy Pollan), flies to the island to help look for her daughter and quickly comes to believe that Dutch national Joran van der Sloot (Jacques Strydom), the prime suspect and son of an influential island judge, is being protected by island authorities. The investigation hits one dead end after another. The suspect is set free and moves to the Netherlands. Erroneous tips suggest Natalee has been found in a crack house. Another surmises she was sold into sex slavery. The truth of Natalee's fate remained unknown at the time of this film's release.
Is It Any Good?
This is a sad and frustrating story told well, but the filmmakers had limited information when it was released in 2009. For more details on the investigation, viewers may want to watch more recent films, including a 2023 Impact X Nightline episode, that outline Joran's path as a seemingly psychopathic liar and violent criminal. In one instance, Van der Sloot is reported to have extorted $25,000 from the Holloways with the promise he'd finally tell them what happened. But he concocted a story, took the money, and fled to Peru, where he murdered a 21-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison there for that crime.
Extradition to the U.S. occurred more than a decade later on charges of wire fraud and extortion related to the $25,000. In the U.S., he agreed yet again to tell the story of Natalee's end, but this time he was hooked up to a lie detector. It was then that he admitted to brutally murdering Natalee after she had refused him sex. He was sent back to serve his sentence in Peru and is eligible for release in 2045.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the agony of not knowing what happened to a missing child in a faraway land. How well does the movie's portrayal of Natalee's mother balance her intermittently off-putting behaviors with her devotion to finding her missing daughter?
Do you think teens who drink can learn to be safer from watching the movie? Why or why not?
Do you think teens who drink excessively believe that nothing bad will ever happen to them? What are some ways to educate them about safe behaviors?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : April 19, 2009
- Cast : Tracy Pollan , Amy Gumenick , Jacques Strydom
- Director : Mikael Salomon
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Lifetime
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : thematic material, mature content, and some mild language.
- Last updated : May 11, 2026
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