The Drop (2023)
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The Drop (2023)
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Drop is a comedy with drug consumption, a lot of sex talk, and plenty of strong language (uses of "f--k," "s--t," and some swear words in Spanish). A teen character is portrayed as a pervert who watches porn, constantly talks with grown women about sex, and hosts a sex and masturbation-oriented online show. Characters drink, get drunk, smoke joints, sniff cocaine, and "micro-dose." People are seen (under blankets and behind curtains) and heard having sex, and the sex talk gets raunchy and explicit. Female bottoms are shown. A woman drops a baby on the pavement (the baby is okay) and suggests she contemplated suicide; another woman threatens her and eventually punches her.
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What's the Story?
The central couple of THE DROP are Mani (Jermaine Fowler) and Lex (Anna Konkle), a happily married pair who own a bakery and are trying to get pregnant. Lex's friend, Mia (Aparna Nancherla), invites them to Mexico for her wedding to Peggy (Jennifer Lafleur). The group flies down in first class thanks to the generosity of Shauna (Robin Thede), a successful actress, and her husband (Utkarsh Ambudkar). They stay at a resort owned by more old friends, Lindsey (Jillian Bell) and Josh (Joshua Leonard). Things go wrong from the start, when Mani and Lex realize on the flight down just how pretentious their friends are, and Lex drops Mia and Peggy's baby on the concrete sidewalk. The "drop" heightens tensions and throws Mani and Lex's plan to become parents into doubt.
Is It Any Good?
There are so many funny and oddball moments in this ensemble comedy produced by the Duplass brothers that you almost forget it hardly has a story. The meandering plot can go largely unnoticed thanks to The Drop's collection of comedic actors, each offering his or her own uniquely bizarre caricature. You definitely empathize with Mani's boiling annoyance with them. He escapes for a night, where he forges a deep (for him) connection with a Mexican family based entirely around a linguistic misunderstanding.
But just when the characters go a little too far (the men's distasteful conversation on the boat, the pervy teen, and so on), they reign the shenanigans in and end on the love stories. There are more serious themes to be found here about love, starting a family, and maintaining a happy marriage. But mostly there's just exaggerated LA types misbehaving in the name of self-improvement and community-building. The actors appear to be having a blast. An uber-melodramatic score set to crashing ocean waves is the pièce de résistance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why Mani starts to doubt his relationship with Lex in The Drop. What factors contribute to his change of heart?
Which of the characters feel relatable, if any, and how so?
How are drugs and drinking portrayed in this film? Are there consequences? What are some real-life consequences of recreational drug use?
How does the film use music to set the mood in and between different scenes?
Why are raunchy comedies so popular? What do you think is the appeal?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: January 13, 2023
- Cast: Jermaine Fowler, Anna Konkle, Utkarsh Ambudkar
- Director: Sarah Adina Smith
- Studio: Hulu
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Friendship
- Run time: 92 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: January 20, 2023
Our Editors Recommend
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Drugs, drinking, crass language in raucous comedy.
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The White Lotus
Globe-trotting class comedy has sex, nudity, drug use.
For kids who love to laugh
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