Common Sense Media Review
Dark sci-fi thriller has lots of violence, sex, language.
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The Butterfly Effect
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 13 parent reviews
Based on 18 kid reviews
Kids say this film is highly controversial, with opinions ranging from it being an incredible psychological thriller to a disturbing and inappropriate movie for children. While some praise its dark themes and thought-provoking elements, others criticize its graphic content and believe it lacks educational value for younger audiences.
- dark themes
- inappropriate for kids
- thought-provoking
- psychological thriller
- mixed reviews
- graphic content
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
In THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, Evan (Ashton Kutcher) is a tortured soul given to blackouts as a child. Now in college, as his memories begin to return, Evan regrets not having been able to save Kayleigh (Amy Smart), the girl he loved, from her abusive father. He realizes that he can go back in time and change the direction of events, but each time he does he makes things worse. Evan goes back to the moment in which he agreed to take his clothes off for a child porn video made by Kayleigh's father (Eric Stoltz). Instead of saying no or running away or calling the police, 7-year-old Evan's second-chance decision is to explain to Kayleigh's father in the words of his adult persona that her father shouldn't destroy her life. Somehow, this instantly persuades him to stop molesting her. Then college-age Evan, back in the present but of course remembering the original reality, is transformed from cool guy to frat boy, with Kayleigh transformed from suicidal waitress to happy sorority girl. But when 7-year-old Evan showed Kayleigh's father the error of his ways, he forgot about Kayleigh's brother, who now, in scenario number 2, as the recipient of all of the abuse in the family, is over-protective of his sister. Disaster ensues and Evan has to find a way to go back again to try to make things work out better.
Is It Any Good?
This movie is pretentious. The title comes from the idea, here attributed to "chaos theory," that the flap of a butterfly's wing can produce a typhoon half a world away. It's an irresistibly intriguing notion -- all of us have thought about what would happen if we could go back in time and make a different choice. But this movie's plot lacks imagination, insight, and even believability.
Evan's time travels include an assortment of every possible form of hideous crime and abuse, including animal torture, child molestation, the death of an infant, prison rape, and drug addiction, all unforgivably thrown in for shock value and none with any shred of dramatic legitimacy. And wherever he is, psychology teacher's pet, half-hearted participant in fraternity hazing, confined to prison, or confined to a wheelchair, Kutcher's acting is not up to the challenge of making even a nosebleed believable.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the subject matter of the movie. How did the movie address the many difficult topics it presented?
What does the movie seem to be saying about the role that events, decisions, and circumstances have on shaping the kinds of people we turn out to be? Does the film adequately address the role individuals have in overcoming traumatic situations and taking charge of their own destinies? Why or why not?
This movie seems to garner extreme reactions from viewers. Some really love it, and others really hate it. Why do you think that's the case? What are some other examples of movies that provoke these types of polarizing reactions?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 22, 2004
- On DVD or streaming : July 6, 2004
- Cast : Amy Smart , Eric Stoltz
- Director : Eric Bress
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : New Line
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 113 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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