Where to Invade Next

I travel internationally a lot and this movie really hit home. When I tell other people what I see they think I am nuts. We think of the world as being less fortunate than us. This is not true. Every one should see this so they understand they are taking Americans to the cleanres.

We watched this thought provoking movie at home as a family, with our 13 year old twins (boy and a girl). There are strong, good ideas in the movie, and it is also a great moving for teaching how information can be presented to make a point. If you are going to watch it with children or young adults of any age, I definitely recommend watching it at home instead of in a theater. We stopped the movie several times to discuss the points Moore makes, to question his assumptions, and to ask how some of the things he proposes might work or not work in a country much larger, and in some cases much more diverse, than the countries he visits. Basically, it was a great lesson in critical thinking. And because Moore uses his trademark wry sense of humor throughout the film, it was a film our kids enjoyed while they were learning from it. The end of the film also presents a strong case for strong women, which was a bonus for us as we watched with our daughter. (My recommendation for "Great Role Models" relates specifically to this point, though there are others throughout the film.) The nudity in this film is not sexualized, though there are plenty of discussions about sex. Those discussions were mature, appropriate, and tend to be of the kind that more parents and schools should be having with teenagers. Again, we stopped the film in several places to discuss and, in some cases, explain what was being said. If you actually believe that preaching abstinence for the sake of abstinence works, however, and don't want your ideas challenged, definitely run for the hills on this one. The violence and swear words are appropriate to the context and are in the movie to make a point. In other words, they are not gratuitous or put there to titillate. Certainly younger children could be disturbed and have nightmares from seeing real violence, particularly since most of it here comes from the police. But, again, the point is that these are things that actually happen and, at some point, should be discussed and understood. Whether this movie is appropriate for your family / children will depend on the maturity of the children. But this documentary was far less of a problem to us than television shows like Criminal Minds or the plethora of movies that glorify violence for the sake of violence and pass as PG-13 "family" entertainment.