Four Good Days parents guide

Four Good Days Parent Guide

A harrowing family drama, this film takes a hard look at the cost of addiction.

Overall C

Digital on Demand: After struggling with her heroin addiction for year, Molly has a shot at a treatment that could help her kick the habit. But to qualify, she has to stay clean for four more days...

Release date May 21, 2021

Violence A-
Sexual Content D
Profanity D
Substance Use D

Why is Four Good Days rated R? The MPAA rated Four Good Days R for drug content, language throughout and brief sexuality.

Run Time: 100 minutes

Parent Movie Review

A teenage injury and an Oxycontin prescription plunged Molly (Mila Kunis) into the world of opioid addiction. With the support of her mother Deb (Glenn Close), she’s been through withdrawal 14 times, spending months in rehab and treatment, and promising everyone in her life that she’s going to quit. According to Dr. Ortiz (Carlos Lacamara) at the latest clinic, heroin has a 97% relapse rate, and Molly is going to need a lot of help to beat it for good. That help might be at hand in an opioid antagonist – a new medication which will prevent her from getting high, thereby making heroin unappealing. To qualify for the medication, she has to stay clean for four days. But four days is a long, long time…

This is certainly a harrowing family drama. Unless Molly kicks her addiction, she will likely die, meaning that the stakes are plenty high. Close and Kunis both put in some good hard work to ramp up the tension inherent in the story. And athough he doesn’t have a ton of screen time, I think Stephen Root (playing Deb’s husband/Molly’s stepfather, Scott) deserves a lot of credit for giving a performance that can compete with Glenn Close in their one-on-one scenes.

That said, this film might not be the best choice for learning about drug abuse and addiction. While it’s based on a true story (an article by Eli Saslow, who also worked on the screenplay), this is a very stereotypical picture of addiction. Molly’s spent time living in abandoned buildings, she’s running out of veins to shoot up in, and her teeth are rotting out. Now, that’s definitely a list of things that can happen, but it also overlooks some of the less visible manifestations of addiction. If you’re worried about someone you know, don’t wait until they look like Molly to seek help. Heroin is not the only problem, and opioid antagonists are not the only solution.

Four Good Days is rated “R” for good reason, since it comes with a large dose of extreme profanity, scenes of drug use and sex, and nearly constant smoking. It’s also highly stressful and likely upsetting for individuals with personal experience in drug use or treatment. This isn’t, by any means, a feel-good movie – although it’s also not relentlessly tragic and traumatic. Just make sure you’ve got the emotional energy to deal with this before you commit an hour and a half to it.

Directed by Rodrigo Garcia. Starring Mila Kunis, Glenn Close, and Stephen Root. Running time: 100 minutes. Theatrical release May 21, 2021. Updated

Watch the trailer for Four Good Days

Four Good Days
Rating & Content Info

Why is Four Good Days rated R? Four Good Days is rated R by the MPAA for drug content, language throughout and brief sexuality.

Violence: There is some pushing and shoving and on one occasion threats of violence.
Sexual Content: Two people are briefly shown having sex without explicit nudity. There are references to prostitution, both for money and drugs.
Profanity: There are 54 sexual expletives, 14 scatological curses, and occasional use of mild cussing and terms of deity.
Alcohol / Drug Use: People are seen suffering from the effects of extreme drug abuse. Individuals are infrequently seen taking drugs. Characters are seen drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

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Four Good Days Parents' Guide

The opioid addiction epidemic is wreaking havoc across America and around the world. For more information about this troubling issue, you can read the following articles.

The Washington Post: “How’s Amanda?” A story of truth, lies, and an American addiction

Time: The Opioid Diaries

CNN: America’s opioid epidemic

The New York Times: A Visual Journey Through Addiction

What can you do to help a friend or loved one who is struggling with addiction?

Reach Out: How to help a friend with drug addiction

 

Home Video

Related home video titles:

Adults looking for other difficult portrayals of addiction might try Things We Lost in the Fire, Hillbilly Elegy, Beautiful Boyor Trainspotting. The Norwegian documentary The Painter and the Thief also touches on issues of addiction and criminality.