Common Sense Media Review
By Charles Cassady Jr. , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 17+
Adultery-obsession thriller isn't for kids (or bunnies).
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
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Language
a lot
The f-word, the s-word, "a-hole," "slut," "c-k," S-O-B, "faggot," "bastard," "Jesus Christ," and "bitch." Scene of a little child picking up s-word use from a parent.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a lot
Frantic, faintly kinky sex, with bare breasts and behinds, male and female. Alex in revealing bathrobe, lingerie. Daniel's wife in bra and panties. Talk of pregnancy, and of another couple possibly injuring themselves during extreme sex. Alex accuses Dan of being homosexual.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Vicious, hand-to-hand fights, including a drowning attempt. A fatal shooting. Knives figure prominently both in attacks and in a bloody suicide attempt (especially in the original, discarded ending). A pet rabbit is found bloody and boiled. A car crash and facial bruising that results.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
Social drinking, offers of cocktails. Alex smokes cigarettes.
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Products & Purchases
very little
Car emblems and other household products. A quick, unidentified flash of the Nickelodeon TV kids' show You Can't Do That on Television. The opera Madame Butterfly gets numerous plugs.
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Positive Role Models
very little
Only Beth Gallagher seems to be a thoroughly decent person. Daniel, a family man with a seemingly perfect life, almost loses it all just because he thinks he can get away with a weekend affair.
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Positive Messages
none
Strong message of worst-case-scenario consequences of male adultery and the danger of temptation, even when it seems like a sure thing with no side effects. Many commentators focused -- maybe excessively -- on the ghastly character of Alex as what happens when a single woman concentrates on career instead of family; she becomes a maniac, literally.
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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. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Fatal Attraction
Parent and Kid Reviews
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- Parents say (4)
- Kids say (7)
age 17+
Based on 4 parent reviews
jan2760 Adult
December 20, 2021
age 18+
BEST MOVIE of all for all men to watch & learn!!
I've watched this movie TOO MANY times to count! My husband told me that after seeing it that the story really scared the $hit out of him!! I truly believe that men should be able to LEARN so much from this movie about the possible ways SOME women will act out their feelings towards their lover(s) depending on certain situations!! YES what this movie showed us all CAN HAPPEN to men with their careless feelings & actions towards many women in certain situations!!It is VERY TRUE that SOME women COULD do things against her lover as was witnessed in the tragedies in this movie & men HOPEFULLY will actually LEARN so much after seeing this movie about most all women in their lives together. !! Point being men should NOT play with any woman's feelings when possibly love gets involved between the two!!! It could end with fatalities as we see on local news reports daily in too many domestic violence actions!!I REALLY LIKE that this movie ALSO included how many children can also SO EASILY be affected by such adult relationships on them as well & NOT in positive ways!! Adultry truly negatively affects involved children poorly in these real life situations!!
LindaP61 Parent of 2-year-old
February 28, 2019
age 18+
Movie was great
It's really based on co-dependency... Having a need to have a man in your life and then you try to harm his family to get what you want? Isn't that attempted murder?? Plus what's the name of the card game that Ellen played with Michael Douglas? Plus the actresses and actors all look great now! God bless. I remember Michael with his dad in the streets of san francisco shows in the 1960's my dad liked that show. Thing is, this movie is horribly scarey for kids seeing a rabbit getting boiled in a pot?! To me that's more than attempted murder right? Breaking and entering, stalking. If you meet someone wanting in a relationship, play it by ear ok? Your higher power has someone in stored for you.... A great 12 step meeting you go to to learn to love yourself better and others is: coda.org (co-dependents anonymous and ragaholics anonymous ---ra.org?) These meeting will help you to think clearer in everyway ok?? Make the meeting by: phone, online and or in person ok?? You want to be better... Then go...I am Linda, clean from cocaine for over 25 years (na.org, aa.org, ca.org, coda.org, oo.org and a few more)! The program.... works! Thanks Bill n Bob!!Linda
Rate movie
See all 4 parent reviews
What's the Story?
Daniel Gallagher (Michael Douglas), a successful New York corporate lawyer, is happily married and a father, but when his wife, Beth (Anne Archer), takes their daughter on a trip, Daniel seizes the opportunity to enjoy a whirlwind affair with an unattached acquaintance, chic book editor Alex (Glenn Close). But Alex doesn't envision their passionate relationship evaporating when Beth comes back; she wants Daniel all to herself. After a suicide attempt, she badgers Daniel at work, vandalizes his car, and threatens to reveal everything to Beth. Police don't help Daniel (if anything, they're smugly amused at this rich yuppie lawyer's ordeal), and soon unstable Alex is stalking the family, with murder on her deluded mind.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (7):
FATAL ATTRACTION is a grown-up, well-modulated, but deservedly R-rated narrative that builds with relentless force and presents a truly compelling villain in Alex. As nasty as she is, she also clearly articulates the moral code espoused in the movie: Daniel betrayed his marriage vows, and there should be consequences. Daniel is indeed quite a rat, but commentators made less of that than the career-woman-bashing stereotype embodied in Alex, a strong female who has it all together but is actually a ticking time bomb of hormones, hate, and homicide (no trick is missed; Alex has other suitors but ignores them to pursue Daniel). The ending was notoriously switched before release, from an understated twist to violence that pushes this into slasher-horror territory. This movie is definitely not for kids; however, as an anti-infidelity scare flick for adults it still gets the (scarlet) "A."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Fatal Attraction's messages -- especially who's 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?
Movie Details
- In theaters: September 18, 1987
- On DVD or streaming: April 16, 2002
- Cast: Anne Archer, Fred Gwynne, Glenn Close, Michael Douglas
- Director: Adrian Lyne
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Genre: Thriller
- Run time: 119 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- Last updated: July 2, 2024
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Fatal Attraction
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