The Spy Next DoorRated PG
Your beach vacation gets cut short when your daughter plops down on a broken bottle hidden in the sand. Almost worse than the wound itself is its location on her body; it’s a little more information than she wants to share. So when her friends ask what happened, she begins to “embellish” the story.
Soon, she’s forgetting what she told whom, and mass confusion ensues! Rumors fly, feelings get hurt and your daughter has some fences to mend. She finds that telling the truth is sometimes more painful — but it’s all worth it in the end.
Being truthful is always the best choice, as the characters in “The Spy Next Door” learn at the conclusion of their harrowing adventure. Watch it with your family and discuss it with our Talk Together points. Then, play “Truth Detectives” to reinforce this valuable lesson.
Now available on DVD, “The Spy Next Door” features a Chinese spy, Bob, who is on loan to the U.S. government. As part of his cover, he lives in a suburban neighborhood where he has fallen for Gillian, the single mom who lives next door with her three kids. Bob keeps his real job a secret, so Gillian thinks he’s just a nice, geeky guy. Bob wants to move to the next step in their relationship as soon as he completes one last mission; then he is retiring from the spy business.
When Gillian must leave home to help her ailing father, Bob offers to watch the children. There’s only one problem: they hate him! The kids — rebellious teen Farren, awkward ‘tween Ian and cutie-pie Nora — plot to get rid of Bob once and for all. And Bob, who has no experience dealing with children, quickly finds himself in over his head.
At Bob’s house, Ian downloads a file off Bob’s computer. He thinks it’s a concert that will impress the bullies at school. Actually, it’s a formula created by a Russian terrorist to help him take over the world’s oil supply. When the terrorists discover their file has been intercepted, they trace it to Bob and set out to get it back, at all costs. Using his impressive spy moves, Bob rescues the children from the terrorists’ clutches.
To protect Gillian’s children, Bob thinks he must keep his true identity — and the threat of the Russian terrorists — to himself. But Gillian is so angry and upset that he has endangered her kids she ends their relationship. By now, the children have seen a different side of Bob, one that inspires love and respect. So much so that they join forces to help Bob when the terrorists trap him in an abandoned building. The bad guys are caught, the formula is recovered and Bob and Gillian — with her kids’ encouragement — form a new family. Their relationship is now based on honesty, not deceitfulness.
Talk together
Farren, Ian and Nora seem to dislike Bob right from the start. Why? What do they hate about him? Is there anything Bob could have done to change their opinion before their adventure?
Bob sees his babysitting job as a chance to “make” Gillian’s kids like him. Can you really make someone like you? Why not?
Play together: Truth detectives
Become a super snooper to discover the truth!
You will need:
• Stone, block or other small object
• Marker
• Blindfold
Write the word “thruth” on the stone and set it aside. (You may also write it on a strip of tape and put it on the object.) Choose one person to be the snooper and one person to be the snoop-ee. Blindfold the snooper while the snoop-ee hides the truth stone in the room. When the object is hidden, remove the snooper’s blindfold. The snooper may then ask up to 25 yes-or-no questions of the snoop-ee to discover the whereabouts of the truth stone. For example, “Is the truth in this room?” Take turns looking for and hiding “the truth.” Your family will get a not-so-subtle reminder that it’s much easier to find “the truth” when it is right out in the open!Take a break from the summer heat with a family movie night! Check out our archives at www.Cinematters.com and get some great ideas for fun with your favorite films!© 2010, Cinematters.
