Last night, we had family movie night. We have two teenaged boys. These days, movies are all about girl power and women affirmation and while that’s occasionally fun, it’s always nice to find a movie that still lets the boy be the hero all the way.
This movie was so much fun. It had unexpected turns, exciting scenes, and a sweet dog. Scott, our 14-year-old, said, “When everyone and the dog lives, that’s a win in my book.”
It was the classic hero’s journey. It’s like the author followed the roadmap of the hero’s journey and used each advancement of scene as a checklist. As a homeschool mom who is also an author and loves such clear representation, it’s my intent to take that movie today and break down the hero’s journey with the boys so they can see exactly what that means.
We always check Pluggedin before we watch a movie. There was slight hesitation because the review mentions that he can hear a couple having sex in another room. It was in the first scene of the movie and it was used to establish his loneliness and longing for his soul mate. Personally, I feel like that could have been done showing a different kind of loving intimacy between the two couples he references, but this is a secular movie and the secular world equates love and sex. But, it’s brief and never part of the story again.
All in all, as a mom of boys, I highly recommend. And, if the first scene bothers you as a parent, you can easily skip those 60 seconds (after the story setup) with the fast-forward button and you’ll be completely safe.
Here’s the PluggedIn review: https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/love-and-monsters-2020/
And the trailer:
