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The American Mall

(2008, Rated NR, Musical, Starring Autumn Reeser, Nina Dobrev, Rob Mayes)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 8, age appropriate for kids over 11; suggested age 11.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Cute musical sells songs -- and merchandise.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 11 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    The central message is about staying true to yourself and not selling out. There are obvious villains, to be sure, but everyone gets along in the end.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.

  • Sex:

    Some kissing, and a music video shoot gets semi-sexy. The male lead is also shown with his shirt off and, later, in just his underwear. The only other incident is a comical scene in which a girl eats a hot dog, which makes a guy nervous.

  • Language:

    Pretty tame. Words like "kick-ass," "butt," "suck," and "pissed" are as strong as it gets, but they're each used only once.

  • Consumerism:

    MTV and Sears struck a special deal, allowing the Sears logo and merchandise to be prominently featured in the film. Characters also model clothing that came exclusively from Sears. The fact that the movie is set in a mall opens up the floodgates in terms of embedded brands. You'll see plugs for Yamaha, Pepsi, Pro-Mark (drumsticks), Pretzelmaker (fast food), NordicTrack, MasterCuts (hair salon), Payless Shoe Source, Gap, Finish Line (athletic wear), Clean & Clear, Ben & Jerry's, Hello Kitty, Aeropostale, and Charlotte Russe.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The American Mall

Parents need to know that MTV is positioning this made-for-TV movie as its answer to Disney's High School Musical, though it ages up a bit thanks to the main characters' more physical relationship (they kiss). The movie's central message -- that staying true to yourself is good and selling out is bad -- is a valuable one for impressionable tweens. That said, there are an awful lot of attempts to target young viewers with blatant product placement: Thanks to the mall setting, the list of featured brand names is extensive. There's a small amount of mild sexuality, too, but language is pretty tame.

Read our full review by Kari Croop

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about whether they think this musical will catch on like wildfire and spawn its own multimedia franchise, a la High School Musical. Does the movie offer an accurate portrayal of teens and twentysomethings? Why or why not? Do any aspects of the plot seem far-fetched? Parents can also test kids' media-savviness by asking them how many brand names they spotted over the course of the movie -- and which ones stuck out the most. Do you think there's a reason some were featured more prominently than others?
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