Parents' Guide to

Search Party

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Men behave like immature boys in raunchy comedy.

Movie R 2016 93 minutes
Search Party Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (2 ):

This movie's greatest fault isn't that the characters are stunningly stupid (one guy thinks they speak "Mexican" in Mexico) but that it's, for the most, part deeply unfunny and, even worse, boring. It's no surprise that first-time director Scot Armstrong was one of the writers of The Hangover Part II, as he seems to want to target the audience that made the first Hangover a hit. Middleditch and Miller (both known for TV's Silicon Valley) play characters who epitomize the worst aspects of the deadly stupid-people-struggling-with-their-stupidity subgenre. The stereotype of the immature, irresponsible, inept slacker -- a guy with the mind of a clueless pre-teen boy living in the body of an adult male -- has made for some popular entertainment before, but this is really just The Three Stooges with drugs, sex, and nudity.

There are a few laugh-out-loud moments, but most of this is so recycled from other, far better movies that unless you're 12 (and no 12-year-old should be watching this), you'll have seen it all many times before. Search Party sat on the shelf for almost two years before finally hitting theaters because two studios declined to release it, which is never a good sign. One reason for its terribleness may be that, as the actors have reported, their adlibs and improvisations were incorporated into the script. Sometimes that can be a good thing. But not this time.

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

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 suggesting a diversity update.

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.

See how we rate