DAYTRIPPERS
A meandering family breakdown with no redeeming message.
Should You Watch It?
The source review finds little reason to make time for DAYTRIPPERS. Its story follows a young couple whose marriage is tested when Eliza discovers a love letter to Louis from another person. The family’s trip to New York becomes a comedy of errors, but the plot is described as haphazard, unmotivated, and meandering.
The film also includes a distracting subplot involving Eliza’s sister and her boyfriend, along with sarcasm, strange ramblings, drinking, smoking, homosexual kissing, and more. The review says the film offers no redeeming message.
Because the film is rated −3 for Family Content and earns only one entertainment-quality star, the practical answer is simple: skip it.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESEliza and Louis are newlyweds who appear very much in love when Louis leaves on a business trip. After Eliza discovers a love letter that seems to point to an affair, she turns to her overbearing mother.
Soon, Eliza’s entire family is packed into a station wagon headed for New York City. They set out to find Louis and uncover the truth behind the forbidden relationship.
Is It Any Good?
One star means the source review finds the film poorly made and difficult to recommend. The plot is called haphazard, unmotivated, and unwieldy, with events that meander rather than build naturally.
The supporting cast does not provide much help. A subplot involving Eliza’s sister, her philosopher-and-novelist boyfriend, and their sexual relationship is described as bizarre and boring. The review also criticizes the film as poorly written and under-produced.
The Worldview
The film’s apparent purpose is to examine the breakdown of the all-American family. Its picture of family life is marked by dysfunction, manipulation, forbidden sexual relationships, and a final confrontation between an overbearing mother and her two daughters.
The source identifies a pagan worldview with homosexual elements. It also notes homosexual kissing and implied and briefly depicted fornication. Rather than presenting a redeeming moral vision, the review says the film has no redeeming message at all.
The film’s focus on a marriage under pressure makes faithfulness an important question, even though the review does not find that question answered constructively. Scripture teaches that marriage is not disposable: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Pagan worldview with homosexual elements; 30 obscenities, 9 profanities & 3 vulgarities; briefly depicted & implied fornication & homosexual male kissing; alcohol use; and, smoking
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film centers on a marriage threatened by suspected unfaithfulness. What does Scripture say makes marriage a covenant rather than merely a private arrangement?
Matthew 19:4–6 · Hebrews 13:4The story portrays a dysfunctional family marked by manipulation and conflict. What does biblical speech look like when a family is under pressure?
Ephesians 4:29 · Proverbs 15:1The source says the film offers no redeeming message. How can Christians recognize ideas that expose brokenness without celebrating it?
Philippians 4:8 · Ephesians 5:11The Final Word
The source review finds DAYTRIPPERS meandering, poorly made, and lacking a redeeming message, with excessive content that makes it unsuitable for families. Our answer is SKIP IT. For a better family movie night, see.
