Common Sense Media Review
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Thoughtful drama about moving on after a marriage ends.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
People Places Things
What's the Story?
On her twin daughters' fifth birthday, Charlie (Stephanie Allynne) announces that she's not happy in her marriage and that she's leaving her husband, Will (Jemaine Clement). A year later, a still-devastated Will is barely holding it together, using his failed relationship as discussion fodder both in the college class he teaches on creating graphic novels and in his own drawings. While Charlie is about to remarry, Will is still mourning the life he had. He seems stuck in the past until a student sets him up with her mother (Regina Hall), and he starts to realize that he, too, can move forward with his life.
Is It Any Good?
This imperfect but compelling drama starts with a bang (Charlie's poorly timed exit) and then slows down, so viewers can really get to see how badly Will is dealing with his new life. He lives for his weekends with his adorable twin daughters (Gia and Aundrea Gadsby) and mopes through everything else, spending his free time pouring his angst into a not-at-all-veiled autobiographical graphic novel about the dissolution of a marriage. Will is stuck, and everyone around him can see it, thanks to Clement's hangdog face effortlessly conveying his quiet despair.
The turning point of PEOPLE PLACES THINGS comes when a student (Jessica Williams) invites Will home for dinner to meet her mother, a disastrous evening that at least helps Will realize that maybe he needs to move on with his life. Hall, as a literature professor who looks down on graphic novels, is appealing as a single mom who definitely knows what she doesn't need from a man and motivates Will to emerge from his shell. The weak point in the film is Charlie, who's less clear about what she does and doesn't want out of life, leaving the movie imbalanced and one-sided (not that all movies about dissolving marriages need to be even-handed, but she just feels sketched out instead of fully formed). The film begins in fits and starts, and the ending is a bit trite, too, but it's a fairly satisfying look at how real people relate to each other, or fail to do so, in a relationship.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how People Places Things depicts relationships. Are they easy and happy or complicated and sometimes sad? What do you expect out of your own relationships?
Why do you think Will and Charlie's marriage fell apart? Why was Charlie unhappy, and what does it take for Will to finally move on with his life? How does he feel about Charlie's impending remarriage?
Movie Details
- In theaters : August 14, 2015
- On DVD or streaming : October 6, 2015
- Cast : Regina Hall , Jemaine Clement , Jessica Williams
- Director : Jim Strouse
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s) , Indigenous Movie Actor(s) , Polynesian/Pacific Islander Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : The Film Arcade
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 86 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language including some sexual references, and brief nudity
- Last updated : February 7, 2020
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