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Parents' Guide to

The Details

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Bad choices and immoral acts go unpunished in dark comedy.

Movie R 2012 96 minutes
The Details Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 18+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Ford O.
Ford O. Parent of 17-year-old
September 3, 2023
age 18+

Worst movie I've seen in many years

Utterly pointless story made even worse with unrealistic plot and character actions, inappropriately child-friendly film music, zero likeable characters and a terrible ending. I kept waiting for a theme, a point, a message, something...maybe at the very end.....nope. It was just a lousy movie from beginning to end and I'll never get that wasted time back.
Doris Day
Doris Day Adult
May 24, 2019
age 18+

Surprisingly Twisted

This film starts off so sweet and innocent... and then quickly takes a strange turn, which continues down a dark path. Innocent people become guilty and truths become lies. It's great acting and production.. I did enjoy it, a very good Dark Comedy! Not recommended for children .
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Jeff Lang (Tobey Maguire) is living the suburban dream, with a beautiful house, charming wife (Elizabeth Banks), adorable young child, and an environmentally friendly car. He's also got a problem with raccoons destroying his garden, and his efforts to eliminate them leads to one bad decision after another. Soon he's fighting with his spouse about his manic pest-control mission, bickering with a wacky neighbor (Laura Linney) about local zoning rules, getting involved in two extramarital sexual encounters, raiding his savings to pay hush money, and even contemplating murder. Never mind that he's also playing Good Samaritan to help a basketball pal (Dennis Haysbert). Jeff might seem like a great guy on the outside, but inside he's a total weasel.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (1 ):

THE DETAILS is long on exactly that -- it spells out in careful detail how one bad choice begets another, sending Jeff off on a twisted mission to try to cover up his misdeeds. It takes pains to paint him as weak, too small of a man to own up to his lies and take what's coming to him. Instead, when faced with a problem, he just tries to buy his way out of trouble, and the prices get higher and higher.

Soon, he can't pay them at all, and that's where the film seems to stumble. What's missing is context. Every time it looks like Jeff might be out of the woods, the story throws viewers another curveball. It's funny, but it's just one calamity after another, forcing Jeff to use ever more devious ploys to cover his tracks. It never seems to stop, not until The Details just halts in its tracks. Does he get what he deserves? Is there some kind of moral takeaway? Not really. As Jeff says in the end, life just goes on.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Details' characters. Do any of them have redeeming qualities? Are they sympathetic? Does a movie need to have relatable characters to succeed?

  • How does the movie portray marriage? How does it compare to other movie marriages?

  • Why do you think Jeff cheats on his wife? Why does he dream about an innocent woman getting killed? Does he get what he deserves?

Movie Details

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