Wolfs Parent Guide

Margaret (Amy Ryan) is terrified. The “tough on crime” district attorney impulsively decided to have a one night stand with a university student and now he’s lying in a pool of blood next to a smashed bar cart. If word of this gets out, the scandal will destroy her career.

On the verge of hyperventilating, Margaret calls a “fixer” who she was told could make any problem disappear. When the unnamed man (George Clooney) arrives, Margaret can finally relax. Then she hears a knock on the hotel room door.

The uninvited guest is a second fixer (Brad Pitt) also unnamed, who’s similarly tasked with disposing of the body and making the entire mess go away. Both men are used to working alone and it’s going to take some pressure and negotiation before they agree to work together.

As both fixers go into standard tidying mode, they soon realize that there’s more to this disaster than a fling gone wrong. Heroin, an Albanian drug gang, and a Croatian crime lord and his minions all make an appearance in this plot, but it’s only when the men unravel the mystery of their dual assignments that the truth comes to light…

I’ll be honest: we’ve seen this movie before. The lone wolf, standing firm against impossibly powerful forces arrayed against him is a familiar plotline. Wolfs spins the genre by making two loners work together and, frankly, the relationship between Clooney and Pitt is the best part of the film. That’s not saying much since the rest of the film feels forced when it doesn’t feel recycled. For a thriller, Wolfs doesn’t produce enough tension: yes, there’s some apprehension, but this isn’t an edge-of-your-seat movie. There’s a reason Apple didn’t give this film a wider or longer theatrical release. It isn’t worth the price of a theater ticket and is exactly the type of second-string production that goes straight to streaming.

If you’re thinking of making this a popcorn ‘n movie night with the family, I’d take a close look at our negative content report. The amount of violence is pretty standard for a thriller (and less gory than most) but the real problem with this film is the profanity. There are over 100 cuss words in the script, of which over 70 are f-bombs. (In fact, this movie’s opening line is a sexual expletive.) Throw in alcohol consumption and a person acting under the influence of drugs and this film definitely earns its Restricted rating.

The only real bright spot here is the cast. Clooney, in particular, imparts a wry weariness to his role and Pitt manages to imbue his ennui with carefully hidden insecurity. Both of these fine actors deserve a better film and, frankly, so do we.