"Short on Thrills and Moral Values"
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What You Need To Know:
THE FORGER suffers from a lack of cohesiveness. Scenes jump from one storyline to another rather abruptly. Any excitement for the heist goes out the window when stealing the Monet is treated like an afterthought until the last 10 minutes of the movie. Despite the decision to work with police, THE FORGER has extensive moral problems. Thus, Raymond condones his 15year-old son drinking, smoking, fornicating, using foul language, and committing criminal acts.
Content:
(PaPa, B, LLL, VV, S, A, DD, MMM) Strong pagan worldview mitigated slightly by moral elements where father shows deep love for his terminally ill son and a life of crime is given up in favor of enacting justice and redeeming wrongs by doing good, but father indulges son’s sinful desires because he’s dying; more than 50 obscenities and profanities, references to male genitalia, calling a woman by a derogatory name; strong violence includes a large gun is pointed to a man’s head, several men are beaten up by a baseball bat, some shoving around in a prison yard and night club, man is beaten up in a fist fight, man found dead with a barbell sitting on his throat, a shotgun is pointed at some men as a warning; sexual content includes father takes 15-year-old son to a whorehouse, teenage boy and woman kiss leading up to sex but are interrupted, implied fornication between two teenagers, and teenage boy is asked if he’s “getting some” from his girlfriend; no nudity; drinking beers while watching TV, father lets teenage son have a beer, but the audience never sees him drink it; cigars are smoked, father lets teenage son have a cigar but we never see it lit, and boy’s mother is a drug addict; and, man bribes judge to get out of jail, painting is forged and stolen, a once married couple is divorced, mother is not part of son’s life, mother lies to son about her life, father lies to son about his mother, man chooses crime in exchange for freedom, father condones son’s immoral behavior, teenage boy wants to join father in life of crime, and father and grandfather have made crime a family business.
More Detail:
THE FORGER is a crime thriller about three generations of con men who team up to forge a painting by Monet and steal the original. THE FORGER is short on thrills and contains too much foul language and other immoral content to be acceptable.
The movie stars John Travolta as Raymond Cutter, a professional thief and con man, known particularly for his work in forging paintings. Unwilling to serve another 10 months of his jail sentence, he reaches out to a crime boss named Keegan, who bribes a judge with $50,000 to grant parole. Now owed a debt, Keegan offers Raymond an ultimatum: help him forge a Monet and steal the original or go back to prison. Raymond has 48 hours to decide.
More than a prison sentence is at stake for Raymond. He wants to be able to spend time with his 15-year-old son, Will, who’s in the final stages of terminal brain cancer. So to keep his freedom, he takes up Keegan’s offer against his better judgment. While Raymond keeps his plans secret from his family, he works on rebuilding his broken relationship with Will. Instead of signing Will up for the Make a Wish program, he promises to make three of his son’s wishes come true himself. However, Will is skeptical that his father will actually follow through but gives him a chance.
Will’s first two wishes are to meet his estranged mother and to have sex before he dies. Raymond gladly accommodates Will’s requests, but his family time is interrupted by the police as they try to trace him to Keegan’s crime spree. For the first time, Will gets to experience his father’s work as a con man and asks to help with the Monet job as his third wish. Raymond relents, and enlists the help of his own father, Joseph, a veteran con artist and thief. Together, the three of them set out to heist the famous painting not only to free themselves from their debt to Keegan, but also from their life of crime.
THE FORGER suffers from a lack of cohesiveness. Scenes tend to jump from one storyline to another rather abruptly, interfering with a more natural flow. Also, the advertised plot of stealing a Monet takes a back seat to the more prominent story of Raymond and Will’s relationship. Any excitement for a heist movie goes out the window when stealing the Monet is treated more as an afterthought reserved for the movie’s last 10 minutes.
THE FORGER has lots of moral problems throughout its running time. By the end of the story, Raymond, his father and his son are all professional criminals. Though Will is a minor, his father and grandfather condone him drinking, smoking, fornicating, using foul language, and committing criminal acts. The excuse for this is that they want to allow Will to live a full life before cancer kills him. The foul language is more than 50 obscenities and profanities.
There is some redemptive value in that Raymond and his father want to retire from their life of crime. Eventually, they turn against the crime boss and help the police bring him to justice. So, there’s a positive moral outcome to the heist story. It’s not enough, however, to make THE FORGER an appropriate movie for anyone.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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