To Russia with Love
To Russia with Love
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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 To Russia with Love is a romantic comedy that tells an unlikely story of a Russian woman who falls for a local man while traveling through the Philippines. Language includes "s--t," "damn," "balls," and "hell." A drunk man comically finds himself in bed with a woman but they only sleep. Bear-hunting is featured and a man wrestles with a bear, but neither humans nor bears are shot. Adults drink too much. In Tagolog, Russian, and English (with English subtitles).
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What's the Story?
In TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE, when we first see Dennis (Gerald Anderson), he seems to be a laborer on a farm. Then he's a wedding guest inexplicably dressed as a parachutist. Then he has joined a kayaking group, suggesting that he attended a destination wedding and is now doing the touristy thing until he returns home. Next, he works at a café and we start to learn that he's the owner of the café and is neither on vacation nor a laborer. Oksana (Elena Kozlova), the woman he met on the kayak ride, hails from Russia. But there's a connection: Dennis' Filipino employee Blessie (Malou Crisologo) spent years in Russia as Oksana's nanny. Dennis and Oksana instantly bond. He spends the next five days showing her around and they fall in love just as she returns to her home country. He follows her to Russia where he tries to impress her difficult dad in comic situations.
Is It Any Good?
Confusion and ineptitude are this well-meaning movie's overarching theme. The romantic protagonists of To Russia with Love are attractive enough but they cannot overcome the shortcomings of the director and script, both of which fail them at every turn. Why does the action begin with a harvest? What are they harvesting? What does it have to do with the rest of the plot? Why is a guest at a wedding wearing a jumpsuit and parachute? When he takes a kayak trip, is he a tourist? If he isn't, why does he need the tour guide? Nothing develops plot-wise from minutes spent on a man's flat tire. So why include it?
The same lack of explication leaves us at sea when the location shifts to Russia. A woman covered in wires and motion detectors lies on a bed. Why? How did a young woman die? How did her mother die? Why is a man pretending to be ill? Suggestions at the end that someone is not who he appears to be make absolutely no sense, to an almost comic degree.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the clash of cultures that can occur when people from different countries and backgrounds fall in love and wish to marry.
What makes a good romantic comedy both romantic and funny? Does this movie have the necessary elements to qualify? Why or why not?
How do you think filmmakers decide how much to explain to viewers? What is your reaction to movies that over-explain things? Under-explain?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: November 1, 2022
- Cast: Gerald Anderson, Elena Kozlova
- Director: Veronica Velasco
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Romance
- Run time: 115 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: November 2, 2022
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For kids who love romance
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