Fools Rush In Parent Guide

Commitment and consequence are in relatively short supply in movies today, but in Fools Rush In, I was pleasantly surprised to find both.

Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry), a New York nightclub designer, reluctantly accepts a job in Las Vegas to design and open a big new club. Shortly after his arrival, he happens to meet Isabel (Salma Hayek), an attractive gregarious Mexican woman with an unforgettable personality. A one night relationship happens and she awakens the next morning, leaving Alex sleeping in bed.

Three months pass and Isabel shows up again, with predictable (but in the movies often ignored) news—“I’m pregnant.” After considering the situation for a short time, Alex decides he loves Isabel, and they get married. But complications arise, as they would in any relationship based on this premise. Alex and Isabel come from very different cultures and religious backgrounds. He views family relations as business arrangements while Isabel looks to her family for continual love and support. Alex loves New York, Isabel adores the desert. Alex hasn’t been to church in years, Isabel is a faithful attender. The inevitable breakup occurs and both are left wondering what they really love most in life.

With some mild sexuality and a discussion about a condom failing, parents would be wise to watch with their older teens and possibly preview the movie in advance. Language is at times coarse, and the script includes one use of a harsh sexual expletive along with other profanities.

Where this film does have possible value for your family is that both Alex and Isabel are committed to making changes and sacrifices in their lives to continue the marriage. An abortion is not an option for Isabel and with both of their families expressing disappointment with the marriage, the two of them know they will have to find the answers within and between themselves. In reality everything doesn’t always work out, as it does here, but with the individual sacrifices these two have made, they are more deserving of the happy ending.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.