Two men engage in fist fights and mud wrestling matches over the love of a woman. Saski trips on a ladder and gets covered in paint; when she throws a shoe at Rio's head, he passes out and has to be taken to the hospital, where he's fine. Deni grabs Saski's arm roughly. A man threatens his fiancée that he will have a spy under their wedding bed looking for blood to confirm she's a virgin. If not, he says he can "return her." Saski's mom is dying of an unnamed illness.
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Adult men and women kiss briefly. An engaged man in a bathrobe in a hotel room is recorded embracing another woman who seems to be with him in order to get a job at his hotel. A taxi driver tells a woman to give an unconscious man "mouth to mouth" and kiss him to save his life.
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Actions count. Kindness is a positive quality. Traditions, customs, and rituals must be kept alive. Elders pass down wisdom. You must face challenges to overcome them, and make mistakes to learn from them.
Positive Role Models
a little
Andra is a good and loyal friend to Saski. Rio is kind and gentle to the women in his life and helps his mom in the kitchen. Deni and Tiara are business sharks who care little about the impact of their decisions on their employees. Tiara suggests business is more important than marriage. Deni threatens Saski and tries to bribe her into marrying him. Parents support their grown kids and also help them make good decisions. Saski's mother tells her women must be soft and nurturing but also strong.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that the Indonesia-set romance A Perfect Fit has minimal references to sex, but a main character is quite mean and even threatening to his fiancée. He insults her, grabs her arm, threatens to "return" her if it turns out she's not a virgin upon marriage (which he says he'll discover by having a spy under their bed looking for blood), and gets caught cheating on her with another woman in a hotel room. He also gets into fist fights and mud wrestles with the man he thinks she's cheating on him with. She's falling in love with the other man, and they share several brief kisses and hugs. Other violence involves pratfalls -- a woman throwing a shoe at a man's head, rendering him unconscious, or tripping on a ladder and getting covered in paint. A mother is dying of an unnamed illness. The main characters often recur to sayings passed down from their elders, and they celebrate local customs and believe in local traditions and rituals. Language in the English subtitles includes "damn it," "hell," and witch." Adults drink alcohol. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
Fashion blogger Saska (Nadya Arina) is engaged to marry Deni (Georgino Abraham), a wealthy playboy set to inherit his father's hotel business, in A PERFECT FIT. But a fortune teller suggests she's about to find a "new path," and soon after she stumbles into the shoe shop of the handsome artisan Rio (Refal Hady). Unlike Deni, who threatens and bribes Saska, Rio is a gentle and caring man. He falls instantly for Saska and begins trying to woo her, but his mother (Unique Priscilla) has other plans in store for him, starting with an engagement to childhood friend and business owner Tiara (Anggika Bolsterli).
This soapy love story works despite many shortcomings thanks to honest performances from its lead actors and the gorgeous snapshot of Bali and many of its local customs. Nadya Arina and Refal Hady make the deep attraction between Saska and Rio feel sweet and real in A Perfect Fit. This relationship carries the film, which starts out on wobbly feet with some ill-timed comedy, overwrought dialogues, and awkward background music. The music doesn't go away, unfortunately, giving the film more of a soap opera feel than necessary. But as you begin to care about the fate of the two main characters and settle into the postcard-perfect scenery, dotted with picturesque local customs highlighted and often explained by characters, you can't help but find this film a pleasant and engaging watch.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about A Perfect Fit's setting of Bali, Indonesia. What do you know about Indonesia, its location, language, and local customs? Where could you go for more information?
Why was Saski going to marry Deni? Why did she feel stuck in that relationship?
Do you think the film gave a very realistic portrayal of the characters' professions -- fashion blogger, shoemaker, and business executive? Why or why not?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Jennifer Green
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