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Amy Poehler as Maggie, John's book-tour manager

The more we get to know Mr. Woodcock, the more human he becomes—though he doesn't necessarily become more likable. John accompanies Mr. Woodcock to a nursing home, where we see that he treats the senior citizens in the pool with the same caustic contempt that he uses on schoolchildren. But John also meets Mr. Woodcock's father, whose homophobic taunts mark him as, if anything, an even more abusive person. We can thus infer that Mr. Woodcock's rough edges, and his need to look down on other people, are something he inherited from his old man. (It's rather reminiscent of the character Thornton played in Monster's Ball.)

At one point, Mr. Woodcock tells John he never says "sorry" because only "criminals and screw-ups" need to use that word. Mr. Woodcock is apparently reluctant to admit that every person, including himself, sometimes does the wrong thing; and if it is difficult to believe that he made it this far in his relationship with Beverly without ever having to use that word, circumstances conspire to change all that.

But as admirable as some of the film's themes may be, the film itself remains a dull experience. Fans of Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler might get a kick out of her character, a hyper-cynical book-tour manager who is constantly urging John to ditch his mother and his hometown and to put his career first—but even she can't help save this film from feeling like an underachieving collection of cliché s. If this film were one of his students, Mr. Woodcock would have every reason to tell it to take another lap.

Talk About It

1. Mr. Woodcock says the word "sorry" is only for "criminals and screw-ups." Do you agree or disagree? Would you apply those words the same way Mr. Woodcock applies them, or differently? In what way might we all be "criminals and screw-ups"?
2. In what ways might the hard line toed by Mr. Woodcock be a sign of strength? In what ways might it be a sign of weakness? In what ways might weakness, itself, be a sign of strength? Note how the film suggests it takes "backbone" to say "sorry."
3. John says his book has been helpful to people, and Mr. Woodcock replies, "Lot of losers out there, I guess." When have you been tempted to dismiss people as "losers"? Why do you think people tend to look at others that way? Do you (or did you) ever see yourself as a "loser"? If so, in what way? And how do you/did you deal with it?
4. Beverly is in a relationship and has not told her son; and once her son finds out, she is reluctant to accept her son's criticisms of Mr. Woodcock. How do you think single parents should approach new relationships, after their children have matured to adulthood? How would you respond if you had a mother like Beverly? A son like John? Do you "buy" the relationship between Beverly and Mr. Woodcock? What do you think it is based on?
5. How difficult do you think it is for people to relate to parents and teachers as fellow adults, after they have grown up? How has your relationship to human authority figures changed over the years? Have these changes affected the way you see your relationship with the ultimate Authority, i.e. God? If so, how?
6. At the beginning of the film, John has published a book encouraging people to "get past your past." By the end of the film, he is saying that people should "embrace" their past. If you had to choose between these options, which would you choose? Do you think you have to choose between them? What are their pros and cons?

The Family Corner

Mr. Woodcock is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content (various references to Mr. Woodcock's sexual relationship with John's mother, including a scene in which John is trapped under a bed while they have sex, though all we see is the rising and falling of the mattress), thematic material, language (about a dozen dirty words, and a couple of names taken in vain) and a mild drug reference (in a scene where a man testifies that he has been "mostly drug-free" since "I found my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" in a juvenile detention center). When John expresses surprise that Mr. Woodcock has a father, Mr. Woodcock replies, "I'm not Jesus!" When someone says their favorite part of John's book was the lesson that we should treat other people the way we want to be treated, he replies, "I kind of stole it from the Bible."

Photos © Copyright New Line Cinema

© Peter T. Chattaway subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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