FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS -- CONTENT REVIEW: THE BEAVER

"THE BEAVER"
(2011) (Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A depressed and unhappy man develops a split personality that manifests itself in a hand puppet and begins to take over his life.

PLOT:

Walter Black (MEL GIBSON) is the CEO of a toy company he inherited from his father and is now running into the ground. And that's because Walter is seriously depressed, so much so that his wife, Meredith (JODIE FOSTER), doesn't want him around their sons, teenager Porter (ANTON YELCHIN) and his younger brother Henry (RILEY THOMAS STEWART), and thus had kicked him out of the house.

After a failed and drunken suicide attempt results in a motel TV falling on his head, Walter wakes up to discover that the beaver hand puppet he earlier found is now talking to him. Walter has obviously developed a split personality that's manifesting itself through the puppet. But he doesn't recognize that fact and thus allows the puppet with its coarse, cockney-accented voice to dominate and whip him back into shape.

In fact, the puppet is so successful that his employees as well as Meredith cautiously accept him back into their worlds, although the presence of the puppet on his hand and the voice he supplies for it still keeps them on edge. That's particularly true for Porter who -- when not finding himself attracted to his school's valedictorian, Norah (JENNIFER LAWRENCE), who's hired him to write her commencement speech -- is worried that he's inherited his father's mental illness and is constantly checking for signs of that.

As Walter returns to his previous life and things seem to be getting back on track for him both personally and professionally, the fact that the puppet personality is controlling more of his behavior becomes troubling for both him and those around him.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Unless they're fans of someone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely that many kids will be interested.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For mature thematic material, some disturbing content, sexuality and language including a drug reference.

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