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Encino Man

(1992, Rated PG, Comedy, Starring Sean Astin, Brendan Fraser, Pauly Shore)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 11, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 11.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Silly teen comedy has some Neanderthal behavior.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 11–13

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Dave tries to use Link to become more popular and doesn't care about him. He also tries to abandon him. Matt breaks into the school and later breaks into Dave's house. Matt calls someone a "fag."

  • Violence:

    Minor pratfalls and a punch. The guys watch professional wrestling and boxing on TV.

  • Sex:

    Some making out, butt-grabbing, and a lot of talk about almost grabbing girls' "gazongas." Plus one veiled masturbation joke and some girls in skimpy clothes.

  • Language:

    Some salty language, including "bulls--t," "piss," "dips--t," "hell," and several words for breasts, including "gazongas" and "honey cones." Matt calls someone a "fag."

  • Consumerism:

    Several products are mentioned or visible, including the TV show Jeopardy!, The Terminator, David Letterman, Milk Duds, SweetTarts, Icees, and Wonderbread. Stoney also uses the catch phrase, "Milk does a body good."

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Stoney drinks tequila and gets drunk. The gang goes to a bar even though they are underage.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Encino Man

Parents need to know that this silly teen sex comedy is heavy on objectifying girls' bodies, showing them in skimpy clothes and talking about girls' body parts. Characters also do some things that parents wouldn't want their kids to do: They lie to their parents, they use their friends to become more popular, they steal a car, they go to a bar, they break into school, and break into a house. There's also some swearing and comic violence.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the difficulty of navigating the social circles of high school. What do you do when you like someone who is in a different social circle than you? Does it make you feel worse about yourself? Does it make you want to do anything you can to prove to them that you're good enough? How do you handle the social rules of high school?
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