What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that although this indie comedy about the soul transplant business is imaginative, it probably won't have much appeal for kids or young teens. It's grown-up material, and the humor comes from taking our culture's incessant soul-searching and self-involvement to a new level of absurdity. Expect some swearing (mostly mild, though there's one "what the f--k?") and smoking. There are also two scenes with brief female nudity (models in a drawing class and a poster designed to elicit a humorous response).
- Families can talk about what it means to "suspend your disbelief." How do the filmmakers make the idea of transplanting souls seem not only possible but ordinary? Did having Paul Giamatti go by his real name make it more believable?
- What is the movie saying about "technology for technology's sake"? Can you think of any real-life technologies that seem as far-fetched as the soul-transplant business?
- Why is the visual of a soul as a chickpea or garbanzo bean funny? Sincethe "soul" is usually considered to have enormous importance,do you think the fact that it was so tiny underlined the movie's ironic tone?