Pandemic movies for a slightly older and more bloodthirsty audience, mwa ha ha ha ha
In the last entry, I pointed out a couple of recent family movies on TV that I thought were extra inclusive and exciting, both for the worlds that they portray, and for the ones they portend.
But we don't always let the 7 year olds into the room. Here are two new flicks I adored that skew a little older, but have just as good social justice commentary!
Rating: A Lovely Movie
Twisted Whodunnit Fun With A Great Class and Race Message
If you like suspenseful whodunnits with biting class and race commentary, whoa baby, are you in for a treat! We let our 9-year old watch this but I'm not sure that's actually good parenting practice for all 9-year olds. My older son has suggested that we rate it 10+.
This film has a mostly white cast, which is usually a reason for me to pass, but the whiteness is the point here. The story involves a woman of color, Marta, who is a private nurse to the patriarch of a family of rich white folks, some of whom are Trump supporters. Patriarch dies violently. Comedy and suspense ensue.
Big pros for this movie:
- IT'S SO FUNNY. Watching the rich white folks be such feckless idiots made my day.
- It's super clever. I had no idea where it was going.
- The class and race commentary is excellent, touching on themes of the vulnerability of undocumented people, and the weird power dynamics between Marta and the family that hired her. I want to point out one very powerful scene, but without completely spoiling it, so I'll just say this: there is a moment in this movie where somebody whom Marta trusts uses Marta's mother's undocumented status against her. Marta seems to quickly forgive that person, and hugs them in the moment.
This is SUCH a powerful moment for education for any kids watching. In my family, we used it to discuss how when humans feel threatened, we have to be extra careful not to throw those less powerful than we are "under the bus." That while Marta hugs that person, it's very likely that Marta will never trust said person again, because that person has shown that when the chips are down that person will choose privilege over trust.
As a mom who is raising kids who have a significant amount of societal privilege, I'm glad to find places where I can really discuss with them concrete examples of what it means to slip up and hurt others with that privilege.
Rating: An Otherwise Lovely Movie
Lots of Bloody Fun, Skinny Typical White Blond Cis etc. Heroine
In case you can't tell from the movie poster, this film is not for kids. I think I'd wait until maybe 14+ unless I had a kid who was really already accustomed to bloodbaths. This is a horror movie and a bloodbath!
Knowing that, those of you who know me personally may be wondering what alien ate my brain, or if someone should be taking my temperature. And it is true that I tend to be both squeamish and...whatever the opposite of jaded is...?
And so horror usually really isn't my thing. I have never seen Halloween, Scream, or even The Lost Boys. I only saw Nightmare on Elm Street because I was seriously crushing on Johnny Depp at the time.
But here's the thing: I LOVED Get Out. Horror used for anti-racist social commentary? I'm there, baby. And what a perfect, perfect film that is.
Ready or Not does the same thing for class as Get Out did for race - and it's much, much funnier. The laughs are really similar to the ones for Knives Out - rich white people who are used to getting their way and who devolve into utter incompetent and helpless fools at the first sign of any resistance. I cackled my way through the whole thing and I highly, highly recommend it.
I recommend it with one caveat: the heroine is yet another skinny, blond, white woman, and honestly, we don't need more of that. (In fact, the actress, Samara Weaving, looks so much like another skinny, blond movie star, Margot Robbie, that people often confuse them....!) I would have loved to see an actor of size, and/or an actor of color, and/or a queer actor, chew up the scenery here.
But this movie is an absolute joy and a commentary on classism and rich people on top of it, and I personally ate it up like an ice cream sundae. Enjoy!
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