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The Wave
By Jeffrey Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Intriguing but mature, offbeat mystery has drugs, language.
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The Wave
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Based on 1 parent review
No escape
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What's the Story?
In THE WAVE, attorney Frank (Justin Long) has just worked out a way to deny a family's huge insurance claim, therefore providing big profit for his company. A co-worker, Jeff (Donald Faison), convinces Frank to go out and celebrate. They meet two women, Theresa (Sheila Vand) and Natalie (Katia Winter), at a bar and then go to a party. Frank meets a mysterious older man who offers him a special, secret drug, which hits him "like a wave." When Frank wakes up, his phone is dead, his wallet and Theresa are missing, and he's late for an important morning meeting. Worse, he starts experiencing scary hallucinations and huge jumps in time, and someone has cleaned out his bank account. After a while, Frank begins seeing signs and realizes that, perhaps, the universe is trying to tell him something.
Is It Any Good?
Starting as a drug-fueled, night-out-gone-wrong story, this clever little film soon turns into a metaphysical mystery that engages and intrigues with its vivid, offbeat characters and smart dialogue. Above all, The Wave suggests that the universe, in a constant yearning for harmony, tends to balance bad things with good; it's a most warming message for very tough times. It quickly and happily sidesteps the perceived goal of getting Frank to his important meeting on time and starts concentrating on bigger mysteries. The dialogue has a way of not only sounding real and funny but also containing layers, little clues that point to the movie's themes.
Written by Carl W. Lucas and directed by Gille Klabin (the latter making his feature debut), The Wave doesn't forget to have fun. From the mysterious man at the party to Frank's CEO boss (forever holding a clinking glass of whisky on ice) and a philosophical drug dealer (Ronnie Gene Blevins), the characters are swiftly drawn, the flashes of time are doled out economically and cleverly, and the filmmakers demonstrate an assured, crisp use of color and space. It's perhaps a little too lowbrow to reach the heights of other great, existential comedy-mysteries (like Being John Malkovich), but, in its own way, The Wave works well.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how The Wave depicts substance use/abuse. Are these things glamorized? What, if any, are the consequences for their use? Why is that important?
How violent is the movie? Is it shocking or thrilling? Is any of it scary? How did the filmmakers achieve these effects?
Do you agree with the movie about how the universe tends to seek harmony and balance? If it's true, how do we help?
Despite all his poor behavior, does Frank become a role model? Does he do good for the right reasons? For selfish reasons?
Movie Details
- In theaters: January 17, 2020
- On DVD or streaming: January 17, 2020
- Cast: Justin Long , Donald Faison , Sheila Vand
- Director: Gille Klabin
- Inclusion Information: Black actors
- Studio: Epic Pictures Releasing
- Genre: Thriller
- Run time: 87 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: strong drug content and language throughout, some disturbing images and sexual references
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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