Here's the truth: this is a well-made, important documentary about civic activism and urban planning that almost no kid actually wants to watch. Jane Jacobs vs. Robert Moses is a genuinely fascinating David-and-Goliath story if you're into that sort of thing, and the lessons about community organizing and challenging authority are valuable.

But it's a 90-minute documentary with archival footage and talking heads discussing highway construction and neighborhood preservation in 1960s New York. The 26-point gap between critic scores (95%) and audience scores (69%) tells you everything—critics respect it, regular viewers find it dry.

If your teenager is taking AP Government, studying architecture, or showed genuine interest after reading about Jane Jacobs, this could be genuinely enriching. For everyone else? This is homework disguised as a movie. Not bad, not inappropriate, just... not what anyone's choosing on family movie night.