Family Movie Guide #2: Crimes and Mister Meanors

I’ve loved sharing info and ideas to give parentals the tools they need for a fun family movie night with wholesome family shows whenever the mood strikes. It’s my jam, y’all!  Here’s my last movie guide review if you missed it.  I stumbled upon this Crimes and Mister Meanors movie totally by accident (teen detective story with political conspiracy thrown in) and can’t wait to tell you what my teenager and I thought about it.

FAMILY MOVIE DETAILS

I’d never heard of this movie, Crimes and Mister Meanors.  It was not originally a book and I stumbled upon it accidentally.

movie: Crimes and Mister Meanors

date: 2015

cast: Logan Burton, Cassady McClincy, Allen O’Reilly, Alpha Trivette

runtime: 92 minutes

rating: not rated

rating explanation: General Audience

available to watch: DVD & Prime Video (streaming online video): At the time of my viewing, we watched for free with Amazon Prime.

Crimes and Mister MeanorsThe Dove Foundation is quoted on the front of the DVD case describing this movie as “A charming story full of action, adventure, & mystery that the whole family can enjoy.”  Amazon says that the main character, “Jake Harvard is less than thrilled when he learns he has to spend the summer in the suburban Washington, D.C., with Uncle Benny, an unmotivated, middle-aged detective. When Benny refuses to take the case of a woman whose husband has gone missing, Jake and his newfound companion Kat Adams, jump in to help. The two quickly find themselves in the middle of a political conspiracy.”

FAMILY MOVIE DISCUSSION

The following is a loose movie guide of the film’s topics that may cause discussion with your people. I try to watch and listen closely, but the only way to guarantee that this movie is suitable for your family is to preview it yourself.

intimacy: zero

inappropriateness: zero

language: zero

violence: While it is mild, I wanted to inform you of a few scenes in case you are considering whether to let young kids watch.

There are men with machine guns.  The bad guys chase the teens, handcuff them, and the kids think they will be killed.  The teens are held against their will in an abandoned building and babysat by an intimidating bodyguard.

Both kids are held at gunpoint and several people have a gun pointed at them. The boy is shot at by a bad guy as he runs away.  The bad guy threatens to shoot the teen girl.

Teen boy is slapped once in the face by the villain (villain does nothing else except talk of evil plans).

There is a scene where the teen girl cries (about betrayal) and begs the bad guys to let them go and not leave them locked up in seclusion.

positive messages: Family doesn’t give up on each other.  It’s always the right time to do the right thing.  The constitution has a place in the past AND in modern day America.

[clickToTweet tweet=”That’s what makes America special – that people have the freedom to do whatever they are interested in. #familymovies #familyfriendly #mysteries #familyentertainment #thehowtoguru” quote=”That’s what makes America special – that people have the freedom to do whatever they are interested in.”]

GOOD, BAD, OR IN-BETWEEN

I felt like the movie got off to a really slow start.  My daughter disagrees with me and says that it never felt slow to her.  We see how the main character is basically shipped off to his uncle’s house in Washington D.C. for the summer while his sister goes to camp and his parents travel out of the country.  I guess it moved slow to me because I knew there was action coming and it took a bit for the story to get intense.

The story line is very interesting though as we see thirteen-year old Jake attempt to help out his washed-up uncle (job-wise).  Jake sees an opportunity to use some of his sleuthing talents (along with friend Kat) to solve a missing persons case.  Little do the teens know that they are stepping into political scandal and conspiracy against the country and the presidency.  Yeah, pretty serious stuff!  They prove that certain decisions can change the course of history.

All in all it was a great family adventure that my daughter and I enjoyed.  We’ve watched a lot of mysteries and crime shows and Princess was especially impressed! She loves mystery and detective life and I love our country’s presidential history so it was a win-win.  We both stayed engaged throughout and on the edge of our seat for the whole last half.  It was SO nice to watch an action-packed movie without bad language and inappropriate scenes!!!

As an FYI, this Crimes and Mister Meanors was awarded a Dove Faith Friendly Seal for all ages.  They don’t give those out lightly, my friends!

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Have you watched a fabulous family movie lately?  I’d love you to share them with us in the comments below!

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