What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that the raw moments include intense (and, of course, adulterous) sex scenes early on, with kinky overtones since they occur in an elevator, on a kitchen sink, etc. Violence involves bloody suicide attempts, a killing, and an infamous traumatic moment with a pet found killed. There is a considerable amount of swearing. Not only does the "hero" cheat, but he also wants Alex to have an abortion. The common, theatrical version of Fatal Attraction carries an audience-selected ending that just treats Alex as a monster to be slain; look on the DVD and "special editions" for the filmmakers' trickier original ending, in which the traitorous hero pays more dearly for his philandering.
- Families can talk about the messages in the film -- especially who is more at fault, the obsessed and dangerously deluded Alex, or Dan, who betrays his family by having an affair with her? What would one think of Dan if he had gotten away with his adulterous fling? Does Alex have a point about Dan being selfish?
- Adultery isn't confined to movie characters. Even actors and entertainers have been unfaithful in their super-glamorous showbiz marriages (believe it or not). Talk about why this happens, and whatever happened to "for better or for worse?"
- Ask kids if they know of situations like the one in the movie among their peers (Fatal Attraction clones like The Crush and Swimfan did indeed bring this plot to high-school environments). How would young viewers handle obsessive relationships?