Common Sense Note
The movie has some strong language and sexual references. Kids drink and smoke and use drugs, and there is a lot of drug humor. A teen pregnancy is also played for humor. The highly questionable morality of the basic premise is clumsily resolved.
Families who see this movie could talk about how each of the kids defines his or her future happiness. What is most important to them? Are they following their own dreams or just responding to the dreams or behavior of their parents?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Nell Minow
This movie was produced by MTV, which may be why it feels more like a product created by a focus group than anything involving characters or story or a point of view. Here's the high concept: a Breakfast Club heist movie, with diverse group of high school seniors, each with his or her own reasons, getting together to steal the answers for the SATs. The characters even mention The Breakfast Club as slacker shorthand so that no one has to think too hard, screenwriters or audience.
Each character is allotted two characteristics, one superficial and one hidden. That gives us Kyle (Chris Evans), the white-bread leading man who needs to learn what his real priorities are; Francesca (Scarlett Johansson), the offbeat chick whose wisecracks mask her vulnerability; Anna (Erika Christensen), the straight-A princess who would like to be less perfect; Roy (Leonardo Nam), the stoner with unsuspected depth; Matty (Bryan Greenburg), the best friend to everyone who needs to be a better friend to himself; and Desmond, the star athlete who can't tell his mother that he wants to skip St. Johns College and turn pro (Darius Miles, an NBA player who turned down an offer from St. Johns College to turn pro).
The film is so slackly directed it might have been assembled by a focus group. Everything that someone thought might appeal to a teen audience is thrown into the mix. We get a little romance, a little angst, a little family pressure, a little (very little) low (very low) humor, a batch of MTV-friendly soundtrack tunes, and a lot of happily ever after. It's not a bad movie; it's just not a very good one.
Parents should know that the movie has some strong language and sexual references. Kids drink and smoke and use drugs, and there is a lot of drug humor. A teen pregnancy is also played for humor. The highly questionable morality of the basic premise is clumsily resolved.
Families who see this movie could talk about how each of the kids defines his or her future happiness. What is most important to them? Are they following their own dreams or just responding to the dreams or behavior of their parents? What do you think of Roy's answer to the question about why he takes drugs?
Families who enjoy this movie may also enjoy some other heist films like may also enjoy The Breakfast Club and some of the other John Hughes teen classics.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSexual references, pregnant teen. |
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ViolenceTense situations and peril. |
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LanguageSome strong and crude language. |
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Social BehaviorThe characters band together to steal a test. Potty humor, drug humor, a teen pregnancy is played for laughs. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoDrinking, smoking, drug use. |
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