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Up Close and Personal

(1996, Rated PG-13, Drama, Starring Kate Nelligan, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Redford)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 13.

  • Is it any good?

    2.0

  • Common Sense says

    Glitz! Glamour! Love! TV news ethics?

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–14

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The lead characters pay at least some lip service to compassionate and well-informed journalism. Warren is an overconfident womanizer (pre-marital sex with Tally, post-divorce sex with Joanne). Sally doesn't seem able to do a good job without his controlling presence.

  • Violence:

    A prison riot, with vicious beatings shown at a distance or on fuzzy monitors, and the heroine threatened. Glimpses of dead bodies afterwards. Ditto for a South American shootout.

  • Sex:

    Bedroom scenes; a montage of lovemaking, but with little more explicitly shown than bare shoulders.

  • Language:

    One F-word, "s--t" numerous times, and vulgar reference to female breasts.

  • Consumerism:

    Plugs for real-life network anchors and TV entertainment and trade magazines.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Social drinking.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Up Close and Personal

Parents need to know that there is sex between the two lead characters, one of whom is a domineering, twice-divorced man, the other a former beauty queen who fakes her journalistic credentials to get a job in TV. Despite the dangers of being too near an open mic, characters swear pretty frequently for a PG-13 movie. You'll find violence in a prison uprising and in battle zones, and there are subplots about authority figures -- governors, local politicos, even a White House -- that are corrupt and need to be exposed. A key character is killed along the way.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the messages of journalistic substance over style, and Warren's boot-camp lessons in being a crusading reporter. Do his arrogant actions match his heroic words? Would he seem so brash and compelling if he were played by an actor far less handsome than Robert Redford? Does the news you watch follow his sterling example? You could also have kids read about the life of Jessica Savitch and determine if the lessons in that story are at all similar to the ones in this movie.
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