I just saw the movie yesterday and it's a wonderful story about love for all ages...its shows the uncertainty of love, the many kinds of love, the emotional torture of love, and yet the continual, no matter how old you are, need for love. It's got characters for every age, it's got humor and views like a travelogue of the beauty of tuscany. Parents should let their teenagers see this to see that love is COMPLICATED, that life has many twists and turns, but that's what life is about. It's got adult subject matter, but if you think your 12 year olds might not be suited for this movie, think about all the junk they see saying sex has no consequences and love is overrated. It's a good family movie that could result in a lot of talk about love, sex and life over pizza after.
Under the Tuscan Sun
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Not much for teens in this book adaptation.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 14–15
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Under the Tuscan Sun was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that this movie has some strong language for a PG-13. There are sexual references and situations, including a sexual encounter between two people who barely know each other -- portrayed as deeply romantic and healing -- and a sexually active young couple. Another character is happily promiscuous. Mayes' husband leaves her for another woman. The movie does a good job of avoiding stereotypes with a gay Asian character.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about all of the advice that Mayes gets and what she learns from it.
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More on Under the Tuscan Sun
What’s the Story?
After her divorce, Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) agrees to take a tour of Tuscany when her best friend Patti (Sandra Oh) buys her a ticket. Frances isn't looking for romantic entanglements. But she ends up with an entanglement of a different kind, impulsively buying an ancient house called Bramasole, which translates into "yearning for the sun." And yes, it is Frances who is yearning for the sun, and yes, the renovation of the house is a metaphor for renovating her spirits. On this emotional journey, she will meet kind souls who will impart life lessons. A free-spirited Englishwoman, a kind local realtor, and three Polish construction workers help her get ready to enter back into life again, and a charming Italian man helps her begin by reminding her that she is capable of loving and being loved. Frances makes a wish for a wedding and a family in the house and when at first it seems that the wedding and the family are not the ones she wished for, she begins to understand that they really are just what she wanted. And she learns that she can help others who yearn for the sun, healing herself at the same time.
Is It Any Good?
Like the crumbling Italian villa at the center of this story, there is a lot wrong with UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, but it is so enticing -- especially for its intended audience -- that it is hard to resist. The best-selling book by Frances Mayes about her restoration of a crumbling villa is beautifully written and wonderfully evocative, but it does not have much of a story. So writer/director Audrey Wells has taken the real Mayes, and thrown a lot of plot at her.
The problem is that director/screenwriter Wells tells us a lot more than she shows us. She seems to have no understanding of how to translate a story into film. The movie often seems abrupt and unfinished and the characters are superficially drawn. The script tells us how the characters feel about each other but does not make it matter enough for us to believe in or care about the way their relationships are resolved. Lane brings as much to the material as is humanly possible, but is given little to do beyond looking wistful and wounded. But it is all beguilingly pretty to watch and its message of hope and second chances is beguilingly pretty, too.
Movie Details
Studio: Touchstone Pictures, Director: Audrey Wells
Run time: 113 minutes
Theatrical release: 9/26/2003, DVD release: 2/3/2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and language
Run time: 113 minutes
Theatrical release: 9/26/2003, DVD release: 2/3/2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and language
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Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
a great movie for everyone
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I rate this title off and give it
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I rate this title on and give it
Just plain hilarious and wonderful
I may be biased because I love Diane Lane movies, but this movie was great. The Tuscan villa is absolutely beautiful at the end and everything just sort of works. As far as romantic comedies go, this one is awesome because it is funny and you feel like you're rooting for Diane Lane's character. Plus, the young Polish builder is incredibly cute.
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