The Poison Rose
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The Poison Rose
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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 Poison Rose is an American thriller starring John Travolta, Morgan Freeman, and Brendan Fraser. Carson Phillips (Travolta) is a private investigator tasked with finding a mission person. But he soon finds a deeper web of criminality that goes way beyond a simple missing person case. Expect some bloody gun violence and shootouts, including people getting shot in the head, chest, and body. Mature themes are touched upon throughout, including drug abuse, domestic abuse, addiction, and murder. A teen is poisoned and murdered. Adults smoke cigarettes constantly and drink alcohol often. A woman romantically dances and sings on stage in a revealing dress (partial nudity, bare breasts). Strong language throughout includes: "f--k," "f--king," "s--t," "t-ts," "ass," "bitch," and "damn."
What's the Story?
In THE POISON ROSE, Carson Phillips (John Travolta) takes on a missing person case back in his old hometown. To make matters worse, the woman needing a person found is Carson's ex, and she seems wrapped up in some strange business, as well as his old friend, Doc (Morgan Freeman). Will Carson be able to work through all the lies and deceptions some in the town hold so dear? Or will he become just another statistic?
Is It Any Good?
This unsuccessful attempt at modern noir is painfully stale, obviously plotted, and incredibly boring. Even as a simple crime mystery, The Poison Rose has little going for it, outside of a great cast on paper. So much of this drama feels cliched, done before, and laughably unaware of how derivative it is.
Right from the start, the main hero, Carson Phillips, declares that he has "always been a sucker for a beautiful woman and a sob story." As every line performed in this movie, each actor tries very hard to make each sentence sound cool or edgy or dramatic, but the dialogue is so often so ridiculously sophomoric that this entire project could've been extremely successful as a parody or satire with something to say. But instead, the film feels like when children play "dress up" and put on their parents' clothing and "go to work" or "have a meeting."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in thrillers and crime dramas. Was the violence in The Poison Rose overly dramatic? Not dramatic enough? Did it help or hurt the story? Why?
Is Carson a likable hero? Why or why not?
As a villain, how scary was Doc? What could have made him more terrifying?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: May 24, 2019
- Cast: John Travolta, Morgan Freeman, Brendan Fraser, Famke Janssen
- Directors: Francesco Cinquemani, George Gallo
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Thriller
- Run time: 138 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: some violence and language
- Last updated: December 1, 2022
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