What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this documentary is about the filmmaker Doug's parents. His mother dies suddenly and Doug and his two sisters -- adults over 40 -- talk frankly about how they're handling the loss and what they think of their father remarrying three months after her death. Doug reads his mother's diaries and learns about her near-constant unhappiness in the marriage and obsession with her therapist. The possibility of infidelity on both sides is discussed at length. Doug's mother admits to smoking pot while visiting one child at college. There's also a mention of the sexual revolution and what some suburban couples were doing at the time (exchanges, etc.).
- Families can talk about quite a bit in this movie. Parents can talk with teens about how this documentary looks at marriage and commitment -- in a way you never see portrayed in films and on TV. (It may serve as an antidote to some shows like MTV's Engaged and Underage.) They can also talk about how Doug's relationship with his father developed through the course of the documentary -- how is it stronger now? If your parents had diaries, would you read them if you could? Do you think Doug made the right decision?