Parents' Guide to

Molly's Game

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Talky, mature drama with powerful, imperfect female lead.

Movie R 2017 140 minutes
Molly's Game Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 12+

Based on 6 parent reviews

fuji apllle
fuji apllle Parent of 6, 12, 15, 16 and 17-year-old
October 28, 2022
age 2+
BrigidArmbrust
BrigidArmbrust Adult
October 3, 2020
age 15+
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In MOLLY'S GAME, Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) tries to hire lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba) to defend her against a federal lawsuit. To convince him to take her on, she tells him her story: Raised by a strict psychologist (Kevin Costner), Molly is once a very promising Olympic skier. But then her career is derailed by a freak accident. So she moves to L.A. and gets a job working for a sleazy promoter, eventually helping him run high-stakes backroom poker games -- the kind that attract movie stars like "Player X" (Michael Cera). Molly soon learns how the games work, taking home huge tips. When her boss threatens to take away her salary, she steals his contact list and starts her own game. Things fall apart when Russian mobsters become involved in the game and Molly's drug use spins out of control. She's temporarily saved by the option to write a book about her experiences, but now she needs even bigger help. Will Charlie take the case?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (6 ):

In the directorial debut from mile-a-minute screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, he opts to get out of his own way and stick to the script; the result isn't perfect, but it's energetic and entertaining. Chastain is a strong reason for the movie's effectiveness, playing a powerful woman who's unafraid to stand up to the men around her. She attacks Sorkin's dialogue with a frenzy and owns it. Molly's Game jumps around in time, with lots of narration and flashbacks, even continuing from where the nonfiction book by the real Molly Bloom left off. It goes on at a great rate for 140 whole minutes and never seems to flag.

But along the way, it's possible to question whether Molly deserves this kind of movie. After all, she did do the things she's accused of doing, even if she claims she didn't know the Russians had become involved. Why should we care? Even her lawyer is reluctant to take her case, and he has every reason in the world to feel that way. But, ultimately, this is a movie about poker, and Sorkin deals out scenes like a pro, zippily flinging cards and holding the important ones until he really needs them. His winning hand is the realization that this has been a father-daughter story all along, and that's the thing that matters.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Molly's Game depicts drinking and drug use/abuse. Does it look glamorous? Are there consequences for abusing drugs and alcohol? Why does that matter?

  • Is Molly a role model? Did you root for her? If so, why? Are there lessons to be learned from her story? Do you think things might have gone differently if she weren't a woman?

  • What's so appealing about high-stakes gambling? What's dangerous?

  • How is the movie's central father-daughter relationship depicted? How does it compare with your own, real-life relationships?

  • How does the movie compare with others that Sorkin has written (The Social Network, Moneyball, A Few Good Men, etc.)?

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