How To Deter A Robber Movie Review | Common Sense Media

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Parents' Guide to How to Deter a Robber Movie NR 2021 85 minutes How to Deter a Robber movie poster
  • Common Sense Says
  • Parents Say 0 Reviews
  • Kids Say 0 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Alistair Lawrence By Alistair Lawrence , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Low-budget home-invasion comedy has language, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that How to Deter a Robber is a comedy-thriller about a teenage couple and their uncle who are held hostage by a pair of robbers. There is frequent strong language and occasional violence, which is mostly played for laughs. Lead character Madison (Vanessa…

 Why Age 15+? Violence & Scariness

Property damage as part of robberies. Discussion of ghosts and haunted houses. C

 Language

Language used includes "goddamn," "d--k," "s--t," "bitch," "f--k," "f---ing," an

 Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults drink wine in moderation at dinner. Character offers alcohol to someone a

 Sex, Romance & Nudity

Kissing. Sex referenced but not shown. Teen couple shown sleeping in bed with co

 Products & Purchases

Story revolves around burglars who steal to enrich themselves. Character confuse

 Any Positive Content? Positive Messages

Standing up for yourself. Caring about others. Learning to take responsibility a

 Positive Role Models

Madison lacks direction but tries to solve problems. She also frequently clashes

 Diverse Representations

The main cast is gender balanced. Some ethnic diversity among the supporting pla

  • Parents Need to Know

    Parents need to know that How to Deter a Robber is a comedy-thriller about a teenage couple and their uncle who are held hostage by a pair of robbers. There is frequent strong language and occasional violence, which is mostly played for laughs. Lead character Madison (Vanessa Marano) is immature but does her best to take control of a difficult situation, while her skeptical uncle Andy (Chris Mulkey) offers a more traditional type of role model. The movie's positive messages take a while to emerge, but all of the main characters make some attempt to care for the people who are important to them. Swearing is constant, with multiple uses of "f--k" and "s--t" used when characters are frustrated or in danger. Violence and weapons feature as the action ramps up, with bloody injury and death. These moments are often played for their comedic value, though, so lack any real shock or horror. There is some kissing between Madison and her boyfriend, Jimmy (Benjamin Papac), and it is implied that they have sex. Characters drink alcohol fairly regularly, too -- despite Madison and Jimmy both being in their late teens -- with some suggestion of mild intoxication.

    To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

  • Violence & Scariness

    a lot

    Property damage as part of robberies. Discussion of ghosts and haunted houses. Characters learn about and handle guns for self-defense. Characters threatened with guns and taken hostage. Non-serious bloody injury caused by accident. Character knocked unconscious, also by accident. On-screen death and bloody injury.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Language

    a lot

    Language used includes "goddamn," "d--k," "s--t," "bitch," "f--k," "f---ing," and "a--holes."

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

    some

    Adults drink wine in moderation at dinner. Character offers alcohol to someone as an incentive. Older teens drink in moderation. Characters play a drinking game. One is shown later as being tired and mildly inebriated.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Sex, Romance & Nudity

    a little

    Kissing. Sex referenced but not shown. Teen couple shown sleeping in bed with covers over them. Mild innuendo, played for comic effect.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Products & Purchases

    very little

    Story revolves around burglars who steal to enrich themselves. Character confused at the concept of not having a mobile phone.

  • Positive Messages

    some

    Standing up for yourself. Caring about others. Learning to take responsibility and dealing with the consequences of your actions. Working together as a team and communicating with each other.

  • Positive Role Models

    a little

    Madison lacks direction but tries to solve problems. She also frequently clashes with her family and breaks the law to get her own way. Jimmy lacks prowess, but does his best to learn new skills and make others happy. Andy is a disciplinarian and hard-headed, but does what he thinks is best for the people in his care.

  • Diverse Representations

    a little

    The main cast is gender balanced. Some ethnic diversity among the supporting players.

    Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update .

Where to Watch

  • How to Deter a Robber Trailer How to Deter a Robber
  • How to Deter a Robber: Vanessa Marano and Benjamin Papac sit at table
  • How to Deter a Robber: Vanessa Marano and Benjamin Papac in green face paint
  • How to Deter a Robber: Chris Mulkey, Vanessa Marano, and Benjamin Papac

How to Deter a Robber

Parent and Kid Reviews

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  • Parents Say
  • Kids Say

What's the Story?

HOW TO DETER A ROBBER finds teen couple Madison (Vanessa Marano) and Jimmy (Benjamin Papac) having to deal with a home invasion in a remote town during Christmas.

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Is It Any Good?

Our review: Parents say : Not yet rated Kids say: Not yet rated

With the first Home Alone movie rightly regarded as a classic, and its various sequels and reboots suggesting there's always an audience for a Christmas crime caper, it's unsurprising that this film got green-lit. But everything about How to Deter a Robber is so derivative that it offers zero surprises or suspense. Debut writer-director Maria Bissell would've benefitted from spending more time on developing the movie's core group of five characters. In particular, the relationship troubles of Marano's defiant Madison and Abbie Cobb's people-pleasing home invader, Christine, who is the most original voice of the piece but barely utilized.

Likewise, Papac gets one scene to show that there's more to goofy boyfriend Jimmy than meets the eye. But it's quickly forgotten before we return to a comedy-thriller plot that's missing both laughs and excitement. Between its booby-trapped house that fails to spark into life and dialogue that rarely offers more than mundane squabbling between family members, How to Deter a Robber is one of those Christmas presents likely to end up in the returns pile.

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Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in How to Deter a Robber. Did the comedic tone of the movie make the violent scenes less impactful? If so, why? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?

  • Discuss the strong language used. Did it seem necessary or excessive? Was it needed to make the story more realistic?

  • How was drinking depicted in the movie? Was it glamorized? What were the consequences?

  • Talk about Madison's relationship with her family. Why did she clash with them? How was growing up difficult for her and what problems did it create?

  • Discuss how Andy saw the world. How was he different to Madison and how did they learn to communicate? Why is communication such an important character strength?

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Movie Details

  • In theaters : July 16, 2021
  • On DVD or streaming : July 16, 2021
  • Cast : Vanessa Marano , Benjamin Papac , Chris Mulkey
  • Director : Maria Bissell
  • Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
  • Studio : Shout! Factory
  • Genre : Comedy
  • Topics : Holidays
  • Run time : 85 minutes
  • MPAA rating : NR
  • Last updated : September 29, 2025
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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.

How to Deter a Robber

Suggest an Update

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