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Phenomenon (1996)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Gentle tearjerker about sudden mental superpowers.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    George argues the merits of basic decency and just being a real nice guy, even with his I.Q. soaring. His close down-home buddies are similarly depicted in rosy, salt-of-the-earth terms, though some of them grow to resent and fear George's transformation. Doctors and scholars are depicted as arrogant and untrustworthy.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    An earthquake, and some thrown glasses in a bar argument.

  • Sex:

    A mild suggestion that George and his girlfriend have slept together.

  • Language:

    Some. "S--t," "hell" a few times, "goddamn," and "freakin.'"

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Social drinking, beers in the bar, talk of drunkeness (it comes across as a hallmark of being a "regular guy"). A character is slipped a sleeping drug unknowingly.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Phenomenon (1996)

Parents need to know that there are a few scattered swear words in this generally gentle drama about a very average, nice American guy endowed with mental superpowers. Overall this movie is more a romantic tearjerker than the science-fiction action/mind-blower some fans -- restless kids especially -- might expect. There is an upsetting death of a main character (off screen).

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about whether having superior intellect can be a gift or a curse. What other examples do you see in the news or on your favorite TV shows of exceptionally smart people? Do you think the reactions of characters in this movie -- including fear, resentment, and near-religious mania -- are realistic? Do you think George is correct in wishing that sudden genius struck someone else, especially someone who wasn't blue collar?
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