AFTER
A predictable romance that excuses immorality and pushes PG-13 limits.
Should You Watch It?
The decision is straightforward: skip this movie. After follows a hopeful college freshman who falls for a brooding bad boy, but the film repeatedly excuses immoral behavior in the pursuit of romantic love. Its message is especially troubling for the teenage viewers and young adults it is meant to attract.
The movie also pushes the boundaries of what a PG-13 film can show. Strong sexual content, infidelity, underage drinking, and moral relativism are presented without the moral and spiritual direction the story needs. The result is not a redemptive romance but a movie that sends the wrong messages to all viewers.
You and your family should skip After and choose a film that treats love, faithfulness, and personal responsibility more seriously.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESCollege freshman Tessa Young begins her new life at school with her mother’s warning to avoid bad influences. Soon, her wild roommate draws her into a party, where Tessa meets Hardin, a brooding young man who attracts her despite his troubling behavior.
As Tessa’s feelings deepen, she must navigate her relationship with her boyfriend back home, her growing connection with Hardin, and the secrets surrounding him.
Is It Any Good?
Two stars means the film has limited entertainment value even apart from its content concerns. Nearly every element of After has appeared many times before: the good girl, the wounded bad boy, the school setting, and the romance built around his troubled behavior.
The movie is so predictable that its formula becomes laughable. Its scenarios feel unrealistic and overly dramatized, apparently designed to make teenage girls swoon. The result is a stereotype of this kind of romance rather than a fresh or compelling example of it.
The Worldview
After presents a very strong romantic worldview in which characters follow their own desires, including sexual desires and personal expression, without moral or spiritual direction. The female lead follows what feels right for her rather than submitting her choices to a stable moral foundation.
The film also treats immoral behavior as acceptable when it serves romantic love. Infidelity is excused without consequence, while disregard for other people is romanticized. Dysfunctional families, revenge, bullying, and strong moral relativism further shape the film’s outlook.
The movie’s central message departs sharply from a biblical view of love, which is not merely desire but a commitment that seeks another person’s good. Scripture warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong Romantic worldview throughout the movie as the characters completely follow their own desires, be it self-discovery, sexual desires or personal expression, with no moral and spiritual direction or foundation, the female lead main character follows where she feels like she should, based on what is right for her, plus some homosexual elements due to the main character’s college roommate being in a same sex relationship
Foul Language
Three obscenities and one light profanity
Violence
Light violence as one young man tackles another to the ground for a brief fist fight with no blood
Sex
Strong sexual content throughout includes a depicted fornication scene where heterosexual college students kiss passionately and undress each other, references to a college student losing her virginity, a few scenes where a college girl and her girlfriend kiss passionately removing one’s shirt in one scene, implied oral sex between college students, during a “truth or dare” game a girl is asked questions about sex and her virginity, a guy and girl kiss and the guy lifts her shirt and goes underneath the lining of her underwear, college students kiss in bed, and male begins kissing her stomach, cohabitation
Nudity
Multiple examples of upper male nudity, female wear midriff baring tops and revealing outfits, female shown in shower and towel from the shoulders, multiple examples of a female shown in her underwear with a top on, one scene where two females are kissing and one female removes her top and is shown in her bra
Alcohol Use
A few scenes of alcohol use include underage drinking at house and college parties, one scene where a college student drinks by himself and appears to be intoxicated
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
Occasional smoking shown using vape pens and a couple references to marijuana;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Strong miscellaneous immorality includes examples of dysfunctional families, strong moral relativism, elements of infidelity while the act being excused without consequence, and examples of revenge and bullying.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film treats personal desire as a guide for moral choices. Why can something feel right and still be wrong?
Proverbs 14:12 · Jeremiah 17:9The story excuses infidelity in the pursuit of romantic love. What does biblical faithfulness require in a relationship?
Exodus 20:14 · 1 Corinthians 13:4–7The movie presents sexual expression without moral or spiritual direction. How does Scripture describe honoring God with your body?
1 Corinthians 6:18–20The story includes revenge and bullying. What does God call us to do instead when we are hurt or mistreated?
Romans 12:17–21 · Ephesians 4:31–32The Final Word
After offers a familiar romance but gives its audience a deeply negative moral message, especially its teenage viewers. Strong sexual content and the excusing of infidelity make this an easy choice: SKIP IT. For better options, see.
