Parents' Guide to

Rising High

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Drug use, binge drinking, cursing in formulaic crime drama.

Movie NR 2020 94 minutes
Rising High Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In RISING HIGH, Viktor (David Kross) is a young man who has arrived in Berlin with no money or resources, but plenty of charm and resourcefulness. While struggling as a construction laborer and without the proper proof of employment needed to secure a place to live, Viktor manages to get the proper documentation forged under the name "Dirk Diggler," signs the lease on a luxury flat, and proceeds to rent out the flat to the large group of Bulgarian laborers he works with. After that scam is busted when the laborers throw a raucous party, Viktor meets Gerry, who is rougher, older, and married, but shares Viktor's zeal for real estate scams. The pair concoct a scheme in which they go to property auctions and buy buildings with money they don't have, then con innocent prospective buyers into singing fraudulent mortgages. To take this to the next level, Gerry brings in his childhood friend and mortgage broker Nicole. An attraction between Nicole and Viktor soon follows, and soon the two are married and have their first child. With the success comes a party lifestyle of booze, drugs, and women, and soon Viktor's life begins to spiral out of control. As Viktor's ambitions and cocaine addiction continue to grow, he finds himself no longer capable of staying one step ahead of the authorities.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This movie is mildly entertaining, but it's ultimately another flashy, unoriginal crime caper. While conning the innocent out of their dreams of home ownership, these charming rogues drink, drug, and womanize their way through the good life, and while the beginning of Rising High tells you how it ends for them, it's easy enough to guess ahead of time that cocaine use and sketchy real estate deals aren't exactly a recipe for a sustainable life. While the flashbacks show how Viktor got to be so obsessed with financial success at any cost, such devices feel as formulaic as every other aspect of the movie.

As is the case in so-so movies like these when (spoiler alert) the main characters aren't killed, the ending makes a choice between cheap cynicism or cheap sentiment. While one hopes for something more original than the two, this opts for one of the above in a way that comes off as lazy and unsatisfying. The acting strikes the right sense of urgency and dry humor throughout, but the story never quite lets them be more than stock antiheroes. And before it gives the audience a chance to really feel anything besides revulsion that these three aren't "beating the system" so much as they are hurting innocent people, the movie immediately flashes off into a glitzy montage replete with "oontz oontz oontz" electronic dance music, drug use, and prostitutes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about movies centered on antiheroes. What are some of the qualities that make Viktor an antihero? How does Rising High try to explain how his childhood influenced his behavior?

  • How is drug and alcohol use shown in this movie? Does the movie show the possible consequences for overindulgence?

  • What are your thoughts on the ending of the movie? Do you prefer movies to have clear-cut endings or movies that are more open to interpretation?

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