Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Wealthy couples struggle with parenthood; language, sex.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Wonder Weeks
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Every obsessive over-concern in the "modern" baby care playbook is ticked off in THE WONDER WEEKS. Most of it is set up as targets for mockery. "Crying means experiencing a developmental leap," Anne (Sallie Harmsen), a new mom, is advised. Among these wealthy people, the natural phenomenon of procreating is turned into a trendy prestigious act that "enlightened" people do better than everyone else. This seems to leave little room for crucial components of parenthood -- love, sacrifice, and patience. Mom clubs are dictatorial and members must embrace questionable practices if they want to reap the perks of the best daycare. A pediatrician scolds parents for raising a "fat" baby, even though the kid looks just like every other baby. The pregnant woman (Sarah Chronis) insisting on natural delivery is forced into a medically-necessary Caesarean section. A spiritual advisor rings gongs over a baby with "chakra problems." A baby's dad (Soy Kroon) is sexually attracted to the hot young female babysitter. A lesbian couple is inconvenienced by their sperm-donor-friend's desire to be a co-parent. Wedding-style gender-reveal parties are part of this landscape. So is sensitivity to the culture wars between parents of different backgrounds as they negotiate how to raise their kids. Rigid parents devise dictatorial schedules for infant eating and sleeping but the babies refuse to adhere. "Perfect" parents, they're advised, keep having sex despite sleep deprivation, crying babies, and all-night breastfeeding. These couples, not a single parent among them, are all wealthy, living in large homes, with access to help, and with the funds to pay for care and food. The dramatic questions raised: Will the militant mom allow the sperm donor to co-parent? Will the rigid mom loosen up? Will the culturally-mixed couple agree on a sheep sacrifice at the son's circumcision?
Is It Any Good?
The satirical tone, crucial to The Wonder Years' reason for existence, gets lost in the shuffle of absurd parental obsession with raising perfect kids in a perfect way. The "troubles" (and they are minor) of three privileged couples are featured but the transitions from one couple to another feel forced. There is no throughline of narrative thematic shared experience that logically puts all these disparate couples in the same movie. And these parents remain blissfully oblivious to the fact that their "problems" are almost entirely self-created. Viewers who can identify a single self-indulgent, over-privileged parent to care about here may find something redeeming in this chronicle of what's wrong with parenting today. Everyone else can skip this.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how first-time parents may feel uncertain about how to raise children and may embrace terrible advice about child-rearing. What pieces of advice would you ignore from this movie?
How do you think most new parents learn to take care of their kids?
Why do you think new parents are especially vulnerable to trendy advice? How does the movie illustrate this?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 9, 2023
- Cast : Sallie Harmsen , Katja Schuurman , Soy Kroon
- Directors : Appie Boudellah , Aram van de Rest
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 110 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : June 12, 2023
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