Along Came Polly

  • Review Date: June 7, 2004
  • PG-13
  • Genre: Comedy
  • 2004
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Talented actors in dumb film with gross sex humor.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there are many, many "ewwwwwwwwwwww" moments, some strong language and very explicit sexual references and situations for a PG-13, including male nudity (full rear view), adultery, spanking as foreplay, and concerns about premature ejaculation.


What's the story?

Reuben (Ben Stiller) evaluates risk for a living. When he marries Lisa (Debra Messing), he thinks he has a sure thing. But on the first day of their honeymoon she falls for a scuba instructor, and he returns home alone to an apartment filled with unopened wedding gifts. He runs into Polly (Jennifer Anniston), a childhood friend, and he asks her out. Can a guy who spends eight minutes a day just putting away and taking out the decorative throw pillows for his bed find happiness with a non-planner, a risk-taker, an exotic-food-lover, and a key-loser? More important, how many excruciatingly embarrassing moments will we have to share with Reuben before we find out? Some of the many "ewwwwwwwwwwww" moments in ALONG CAME POLLY include an almost-blind ferret that keeps slamming into walls and Reuben's constant struggle to hold in various bodily functions, from controlling his irritable bowel syndrome when he eats ethnic food to maintaining his sexual stamina when he becomes overexcited the first time he and Polly make love.


Is it any good?

 

If all of this strikes you as funny, then you probably don't get out much, and this may be the movie for you when you do. But you will still have to sit through a lot of dull filler subplots that waste the talents of the stars, including Reuben's self-centered and obnoxious childhood friend (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a has-been actor still clinging to his one successful appearance in a John Hughes-style teen movie, salsa lessons, and a client prospect (Bryan Brown) who likes to jump off buildings and swim with sharks.

The characters are overly generic, especially Reuben's kvetching mother (Michelle Lee) and silent but deep father (Bob Dishy). Hank Azaria is wasted as a naked scuba instructor with a Pepe LePew accent. None of the characters are anything other than narrative conveniences and so it is impossible to care what happens to them.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about how they assess risks and rewards and how different people are comfortable taking different kinds of chances.


This review was written by Nell Minow
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Interesting but Enjoyable
I was fairly satisfied with this movie. I was mainly drawn to see this movie because I adore Jennifer Aniston's work, and the pet ferrett seemed hilarious. I thought that there were a few things that made you squeamish, like bathroom jokes, but it was all tastefully done. Polly, Jennifer Aniston's character, was someone who I could relate to very much. She was humorous, caring, and well meaning. She helped Ben Stiller's character, Rueben, become his true self. She understands his differences and doesn't alienate him. The characters are accepting, work hard at their jobs, and like all people, have their flaws. They learn to be comfortable in their own skins, and learn that it is okay to be themselves. This is a great movie for people who are looking for a laugh, and who are willing to withstand about 10 total minutes of humor that would definitly appeal to 7-13 year old boys (toilet humor).

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
dumb!!!!!! 13+
sex language drugs affairs.... adds up :(

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
June 21, 2010
 
14 and up.
along came polly is a funny comedy movie that will be good for your older teens but parents along came polly has a lot of inappropriate scenes and one sex scene but no nudity shown there's strong language used and social drinking.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
GREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAATTT MOVIE!!!!
Let me tell you commonsense does't know crap if they think this is a bad movie. I'll admit there are some inappriote parts- but it's all funny! If you love the work of Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston then this is a must see! Trust me.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 2, 2011
 
What a bomb!
Both leads are boring and personaly-less, overhyped actors (Stiller and Aniston) that make this movie painful to watch. There is no chemistry, and the thing chugs through the motions without any sort of feeling, humour or interest. Watching this is like fingernails on a blackboard, and it could only be appreciated by someone who has never seen good acting or good comedies of any sort. Alas, that describes a swathe of the upcoming generation.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 18 years old
April 9, 2008
 
lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
February 8, 2011
 
Very Funny
While I can see why some wouldn't like this movie, I thought it was hilarious. It's really crude (and disturbing) at times, but once/if you get over that, the movie's pretty good. But with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller, who could go wrong?

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
September 3, 2011
 
Funny at times.
My rating: PG-13 for frequent sexual content including references and scenes, and for language.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 12 years old
March 30, 2012
 
No. No. No.
Don't bother. Just plain stupid and dumb. Whoever made this film should stop making movies. Don't waste ur time on this really bad not funny "comedy". Oh wait, it is'nt even a comedy. It's garbage.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Nell Minow
Studio:Universal Pictures
Director:John Hamburg
Cast:Ben Stiller, Debra Messing, Jennifer Aniston
Genre:Comedy
Run time:90 minutes
Theatrical release date:January 16, 2004
DVD release date:June 8, 2004
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:sexual content, language, crude humor and some drug references

This review was written by Nell Minow
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you see Along Came Polly?


Already seen it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it