Picture This! (PG-13)

Cute, but sends iffy messages to Tisdale fans.

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About Our Ratings
Common Sense rates it
3
Seen the movie? Review it
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Movie details
  • Studio: MGM Home Entertainment
  • Directed By: Stephen Herek
  • Cast: Kevin Pollak, Ashley Tisdale, Robbie Amell
  • Running Time: 92 minutes
  • Release Date: 07/02/2008
  • Video/DVD Release Date: 07/22/2008
  • Genre: Comedy
  • MPAA Rating: PG-13
  • MPAA Explanation: some sexual references.

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that the teens in this movie are inseparable from their video phones and sometimes border on voyeurism with their exploitation of peers' embarrassing moments. In one scene, for instance, a girl snaps a photo of her classmate's partially exposed thong underwear and emails it to the entire student body to humiliate her. While there's nothing beyond a kiss and slow dances to see, teens use terms like "do her and dump her" and "hump and dump" to refer to potential casual sex. The main character's rebellious teen behavior (sneaking out to attend a party, lying to parents, etc.) is cast in a humorous light, but she does learn valuable lessons about listening to her conscience.

Families can talk about friends and peer pressure. What message does this movie send about friendship and relating to people who are different from you? Have you ever felt like you didn't belong? How did you respond? Did you feel pressured to change who you were? Parents can also talk about making mature decisions. Have you ever been forced to make a difficult decision around your peers? Did you feel good about the outcome? Why is it hard to go against the flow?

Message

Social Behavior:

Nearly every teen uses a video phone to communicate with friends and to email embarrassing photos of classmates to their friends. A teen girl deceives her father, sneaking out of the house to go to a party that he's banned her from. The story centers on the social hierarchy of high school and the pressures to fit in with the elitist "cool" crowd. Some girls play mean-spirited pranks on their peers to humiliate them. A teen finds the inner strength to make a difficult decision and to appreciate her father's love for her.

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

One scene shows teens in a bar setting drinking what appears to be beer. A girl downs a bottle of her friend's allergy medicine after suffering an allergic reaction to nuts.

Violence

Sex

Teens talk about sex in casual terms like "do her and dump her" and "hump and dump," but physical contact is limited to slow dances and one kiss. The main character swoons over the school's most popular boy, describing him as a "hottie" and vowing to do anything to get him to notice her.

Language

Rare use of "hell," "damn," and "ass."

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Emily Ashby

For Mandy Gilbert (Ashley Tisdale), senior year means just one thing: It's her last chance to get school hunk Drew Patterson (Robbie Amell) to notice her. After a few carefully crafted plans -- and one major mishap -- Mandy finds herself on speaking terms with Drew, who turns out to be even better than she'd imagined. She's overjoyed when Drew invites her to his party, but her dreams are crushed when her lovingly overprotective dad (Kevin Pollack) grounds her for lying to him. It will take a lot of ingenuity -- and some crafty work with her fancy new video phone -- to get Mandy to Drew's party on time. Only time will tell if she and her friends will be able to outsmart Drew's jealous ex-girlfriend, Lisa (Cindy Busby), who will stop at nothing to ensure Mandy doesn't win his heart.

Is it any good?

3
Adorable and talented, Tisdale (High School Musical) shines once again in this role as the lovably irrepressible Mandy, who always manages to rise above the adversity thrown in her path. Though it's certainly a stretch to imagine Tisdale as a social outcast, she puts her heart into the role and manages to make the story believable. Tweens will enjoy the funny take on the social structure of high school and will cheer along with Mandy's friends as she challenges the popularity scale and sets herself apart from the catty popular kids just by being true to her heart.

That said, the movie definitely needs a bit of cautionary follow-up on a few levels, especially for impressionable tweens. Mandy often uses her video phone to lie to her dad, contriving proof that she's at a friend's house studying when she's really getting ready for a party he's grounded her from. Other characters use their phones to exploit their peers' embarrassing moments, snapping photos of them in compromising situations and emailing them to friends. And then there are the iffy phrases the teens use -- like "hump and dump" and "do her and dump her." Finally, the movie implies that popularity is based solely on inherent factors like socioeconomic class rather than on personality. It's too bad these iffy messages distract from some of the fun.

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Parents and kids say

All Reviews

There are 18 reviews.

4

Posted on 07/29/08 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 12

Good movie there is a lesson. Can you figure it out

5


Posted on 07/26/08 by Hot_Jessy01 Kid contributor, age 14

I adored this movie!

This movie was a great movie but it did have like lying to her dad and its not that good kind of vibe that you should be sending to your children because there is alcohol and throwing up because of it so I Kind of recommend it to at least 13 year olds because of this
Age 13+
4


Posted on 07/24/08 by no-no Adult contributor

there is bad stuff in every movie at least this has only one
2


Posted on 07/23/08 by ac7193 Kid contributor, age 14

An under acheived film

I think this film was not worth the $5 at Blcokbuster. I thought it would be a bit like "Mean Girls". But, this film is noooo Mean Girls. I found this to be boring and not romantic or funny in any way. Teens should not waste their time watching this. Go see National Lampoon's Pledge This or Mean Girls. I would not recommend this film.
1


Posted on 07/23/08 by bubbleboy Kid contributor, age 12

This is just wrong

Ni, i'm not talking about the content like everyone else, I agree with CS's review. I'm talking about this terribly awful and horrid excuse for a film. Did i give it 1 star? OOPS! I meant -1,000 stars!!!! This is AWFUL! Not only does it portray parents as mentally insane prison wardens, it has no sense of coherence at all! Mandy simply could not have fooled her father like that! No person is that stupid, NO ONE! I just hated this film, period. I'm not gonna take up space, just say that this film is AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL!!!!!
Age 17+
1

Posted on 07/21/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Not Appropriate for ANY Tweens

I am pretty open-minded about what my kids watch, but this movie was wrong on so many levels. It wasn't just suggestive...it was blatant. I am disappointed in the 'family channel' for even airing this. My 14-year-old daughter was at a friend's house, and that mother turned it off (thankfully). I watched the whole movie after the kids went to bed, and I was shocked by the sex, the drinking, the lying, the malicious humiliation. Nothing, nothing, nothing, redeeming about this movie.
Age 11+
5

Posted on 07/21/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

GREAT

this movie was soooo great it is a must see for all pre-teens and teens it is great and my kids and I loved it!
Age 13+
2


Posted on 07/18/08 by tlwells Adult contributor

Family Channel?

My 7 year old daughter was so excited to see this, but in the first five minutes there was already bad langueage and within 30 there was lots of sexual talk. I thought this was a FAMILY moovie. I gues when they say family what they really mean is teenage movie.
Age 13+
1

Posted on 07/17/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Crass, Callous and Cliche

As the father of daughters, I was very disappointed in the underlying message of this film: girls just want to date cute, rich boys - and their success at doing so is how they should value themselves. The girls in this movie have absolutely no interests or ambitions other than getting to the cool part, being with the cool boy - or, conversely, preventing a rival from doing the same. It plays on all the worst stereotypes of teen girls, and uses many tired cliches from the teen genre (posse of good girls vs posse of mean girls; hunky boy going to college his dad wants him to; etc) -- all of which have been used to much better effect elsewhere. The father was also absurdly over-protective if not imbecilic. The comedy and the drama all depends on people behaving at their worst. The movie sells teen girls short. They are far smarter and better than depicted here.
Age 17+
3

Posted on 07/16/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

I was shocked

It was a movie geared toward teenagers, which I normally like, like highschool musical and hannah montana. I couldn't believe some of the things I was seeing and hearing for a teen movie. Now, I'm not naive, I know how a lot of teens can be (like doing worse things than in this movie), but I'm accustomed to the 'teen' movies being clean. I saw underage drinking, lying to parents and getting away with it repeatedly, and speaking of such things as a 'hump and dump' and 'getting deflowered'. I sat down expecting an innocent 'teen geared' movie and was very surprised with the content. It was TV 14, I just wanted to warn parents of young teens of this movie.

See all 18 reviews >

Adult Reviews

There are 9 reviews.

Age 13+
4


Posted on 07/24/08 by no-no Adult contributor

there is bad stuff in every movie at least this has only one
Age 17+
1

Posted on 07/21/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Not Appropriate for ANY Tweens

I am pretty open-minded about what my kids watch, but this movie was wrong on so many levels. It wasn't just suggestive...it was blatant. I am disappointed in the 'family channel' for even airing this. My 14-year-old daughter was at a friend's house, and that mother turned it off (thankfully). I watched the whole movie after the kids went to bed, and I was shocked by the sex, the drinking, the lying, the malicious humiliation. Nothing, nothing, nothing, redeeming about this movie.
Age 11+
5

Posted on 07/21/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

GREAT

this movie was soooo great it is a must see for all pre-teens and teens it is great and my kids and I loved it!
Age 13+
2


Posted on 07/18/08 by tlwells Adult contributor

Family Channel?

My 7 year old daughter was so excited to see this, but in the first five minutes there was already bad langueage and within 30 there was lots of sexual talk. I thought this was a FAMILY moovie. I gues when they say family what they really mean is teenage movie.
Age 13+
1

Posted on 07/17/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Crass, Callous and Cliche

As the father of daughters, I was very disappointed in the underlying message of this film: girls just want to date cute, rich boys - and their success at doing so is how they should value themselves. The girls in this movie have absolutely no interests or ambitions other than getting to the cool part, being with the cool boy - or, conversely, preventing a rival from doing the same. It plays on all the worst stereotypes of teen girls, and uses many tired cliches from the teen genre (posse of good girls vs posse of mean girls; hunky boy going to college his dad wants him to; etc) -- all of which have been used to much better effect elsewhere. The father was also absurdly over-protective if not imbecilic. The comedy and the drama all depends on people behaving at their worst. The movie sells teen girls short. They are far smarter and better than depicted here.
Age 17+
3

Posted on 07/16/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

I was shocked

It was a movie geared toward teenagers, which I normally like, like highschool musical and hannah montana. I couldn't believe some of the things I was seeing and hearing for a teen movie. Now, I'm not naive, I know how a lot of teens can be (like doing worse things than in this movie), but I'm accustomed to the 'teen' movies being clean. I saw underage drinking, lying to parents and getting away with it repeatedly, and speaking of such things as a 'hump and dump' and 'getting deflowered'. I sat down expecting an innocent 'teen geared' movie and was very surprised with the content. It was TV 14, I just wanted to warn parents of young teens of this movie.
Age 17+
0


Posted on 07/14/08 by hannahmommy Adult contributor

A little angry

We turned this movie off! I'll admit I was a little negligent, we didn't realize it was PG-13 until about 1/2 hour in, I made the assumption that it would be ok -- Ashley Tisdale, ABCFamily at 5 pm, and they kept touting a sneak peak at HSM 3. Yet the language was horrible, there was discussion about "de-flowering", she lies and sneaks around her dad within the first 15 minutes. The PG-13 rating is misleading, I think it should have been rated R. I wouldn't have let my 13 year old watch it. This should come with BIG warning lights and sirens.
Age 11+
4


Posted on 07/14/08 by DexterSmith Adult contributor

Good movie, too iffy for the majority of Tisdale's fanbase

Sexual Content (Pause): The main character is referred to as a "hump and dump" and a "do her and dump her". Occasional mention of a boy taking a girl up to his shower for sex. Violence (Not an Issue): None. Language (Pause): Hell, D**n, and ass. Social Behavior (Pause): A girl stops at nothing to humiliate the main character, including feeding her nuts, which she is very allergic to. The main character lies to her father about studying at a friend's house when she's really getting ready for a party. Commercialism (Pause): LG logo seen on video phone. Abercrombie and Fitch mentioned. Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco (Pause): Teens drink beer. The main character swigs allergy medicine after her face swells up from an allergic reaction to nuts.
Age 13+
3

Posted on 07/13/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor

See all 9 adult reviews>

Kids Reviews

There are 9 reviews.

4

Posted on 07/29/08 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 12

Good movie there is a lesson. Can you figure it out

5


Posted on 07/26/08 by Hot_Jessy01 Kid contributor, age 14

I adored this movie!

This movie was a great movie but it did have like lying to her dad and its not that good kind of vibe that you should be sending to your children because there is alcohol and throwing up because of it so I Kind of recommend it to at least 13 year olds because of this
2


Posted on 07/23/08 by ac7193 Kid contributor, age 14

An under acheived film

I think this film was not worth the $5 at Blcokbuster. I thought it would be a bit like "Mean Girls". But, this film is noooo Mean Girls. I found this to be boring and not romantic or funny in any way. Teens should not waste their time watching this. Go see National Lampoon's Pledge This or Mean Girls. I would not recommend this film.
1


Posted on 07/23/08 by bubbleboy Kid contributor, age 12

This is just wrong

Ni, i'm not talking about the content like everyone else, I agree with CS's review. I'm talking about this terribly awful and horrid excuse for a film. Did i give it 1 star? OOPS! I meant -1,000 stars!!!! This is AWFUL! Not only does it portray parents as mentally insane prison wardens, it has no sense of coherence at all! Mandy simply could not have fooled her father like that! No person is that stupid, NO ONE! I just hated this film, period. I'm not gonna take up space, just say that this film is AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL!!!!!
3


Posted on 07/14/08 by mileycyrushater Kid contributor, age 11

Not so good!!

This movie looked great by its previews but was not so great. Mandy's behavior was wrong and she didn't even tell her dad what she did. The mean girls were also very mean and their behavior stunk.Their is some breif sex talk but nothing to turn off the movie over. The laguage was kind of iffy for younger kids. Rare uses of D&%n and Sl@t and He^^. But Overall Pause for 11 year olds and On for 12 year olds.
4


Posted on 07/14/08 by swatty16 Kid contributor, age 16

A good girl movie for teens

I watched this actually last night and I thought it was a pretty good movie. The movie is basically about a girl who is an outcast and whats her "dream man" to notice her. Over throughout the movie the girl is wanting her dad's trust and some parts in the movie were unessesary to put in the movie. But overall, a good movie for Ashley Tisdale. And there are mean girls in this film that I recommend no little girls modeling thereselves after. But, I liked the movie.
3

Posted on 07/13/08 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 11

Picture this is a great family comedy and very mild for a PG-13.

Picture this has some sexual references. Such as 'hump and dump' and 'do her and dump her'. There is also brief sexual material. A girl takes a video with a girl's cell phone of a couple hugging and kissing. The profanity is mild. Characters say 'a--', 'D**n', 'hell', and 'god' but very brief. There is no violence present in the film neither are drugs. The social behavior and commercalism is no problem. I actually saw the movie on the ABC. So I'm not making it up.
0


Posted on 07/11/08 by bingbong111 Kid contributor, age 9

4


Posted on 07/06/08 by trishacool Kid contributor, age 12

See all 9 kids reviews >
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