The Lake House (PG, 2006)

common sense media says

Corny romance will bore kids.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the movie includes some sad spots where the wannabe romantic partners can't meet for years, only exchange letters. A young man fights with his father, then the father dies, which makes the son cry. A bus accident kills a pedestrian (you hear crash and see prone body afterwards) and upsets a female doctor who's on the scene. Characters drink in bars and at parties. A woman kisses a man who's not her fiancé, who's upset when he catches them.

Positive messages: Characters in love are loyal, characters looking for love sometimes hurt others, and a father-son relationship is tense (mutual anger).
Violence: A bus hits a car and leaves a pedestrian dead; when Kate tries to help, she's sad when the victim dies.
Sex: "Long-distance" romance is mostly chaste (they live two years apart), but grants them two passionate kisses; Kate wears a nightie that shows cleavage.
Language: Several uses of "hell," one each of s-word, "For Christ's sake," "godamnit."
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Characters drink wine and beer a couple of times, liquor and champagne in social/party settings.

More on The Lake House

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the idea of falling in love through letters (or online!): what sorts of things do you learn about someone else through writing that you often don't learn face to face? What traits make Kate and Alex appealing to one another, even though they haven't seen each other? How can waiting and patience make relationships, whether romantic or familial, seem more worthwhile?

What's the story?

What's the story?
At the start of this romance film, Kate (Sandra Bullock) and Alex (Keanu Reeves) exchange letters via a magic mailbox at the titular Chicago area lake house. He has just moved into the house, and she has just moved out. The rub is, he's living in 2004 and she's in 2006. As Kate and Alex fall in love, they also realize they are living in different years. They accept this oddity and begin to plot ways to find one another across time. When Alex tracks Kate down in 2004, before she knows he exists, Kate is engaged to an over-controlling man and wishing she knew someone more like Alex. Kate tells him she loves Jane Austen's Persuasion (a book about waiting), they look deeply into one another's eyes and share a camera-swirling kiss. And then: pffft. Though he knows who she is, Alex doesn't pursue Kate, leaving her to be unhappily engaged, as he is unhappy with himself. Here the structure of the film changes from their pensive voice-over letter writing into conversation as they go about their separate, split-screened lives.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Evocative and sometimes lovely, THE LAKE HOUSE is all about waiting. While this refers to the central couple, it also affects viewers, who must wait for alternately obvious and illogical plot points to be resolved. Occasionally rewarding, this slow movement is sometimes annoying, and the switch from letter-writing-voice-over to conversation-and-split-screen is simply awkward.

Perhaps most disappointing is the movie's feeble use of the wondrous Shohreh Aghdashloo (X-Men:The Last Stand) as Anna, Kate's supervisor. When Anna observes that this mystery man "must write one hell of a letter" to warrant so much mooning, the movie briefly exposes its sense of humor. But his letters ("I'll find a way to be close to you, to take care of you") sound more like a Lifetime movie than Jane Austen.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Alejandro Agresti
Cast: Christopher Plummer, Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock
Genre: Drama
Run time: 888 minutes
Theatrical release: June 16, 2006
DVD release: September 26, 2006
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: some language and a disturbing image

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 
 

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What parents & educators say

13

Most useful reviews by all members

wubbo
adult
 
Surprisingly Tame
While this movie does drag a bit and will bore the younger set, my 11-YO daughter found the concept of "love across time" to be quite interesting. Of course this is as corny a movie as you might imagine, but it was nice to be able to watch a movie without having to worry about inappropriate behavior by adults.

lightandlife
parent of 8 and 12 year old
 

oniongirl
teen, 14 years old
 
i don't understand why they called this movie corny!
this is a very sweet, one-of-a-kind movie. there is no sex, violence, or strong language, and the main characters are good people. but most kids (and some adults) may find it long and dull. interesting and visual; not for the whole family.

 
I looooooooved this movie!
It was really good and there wasn't aanything bad in it. I don't know why someone put yellow for sexual content, cause there wasn't any.

 
A romance for your mind.
I was a little iffy about seeing this movie until my girlfriend (19) swayed my opinion about it and took me to the theater (I paid!). At first I thought this was going to be a too-serious, heart-wrenching movie about a long distance relationship- only it wasn't. It was almost the opposite. There were no drugs, sex, or anything objectable in this movie in my opinion; the drinking was far less than any child would witness at a family get-together (assuming wine or any other alcoholic beverage is present.) The reason I WOULD NOT recommend this to ages <13, or even <18 for that matter, is not because of objectionable content, but only because of the storyline. If I had 13 year old children, they most probably -wouldn't get it.- I have rated it PG-13. The space-time concept in this film challenged my mind more than the romance challenged my heart, and as a result, I would even recommend this movie to guy friends of mine. This is a simple love story with an incredible time twist that will keep you thinking and saying "what if?" hours after the ending credits.

amenzel@epix.net
teen, 17 years old
 
Definetly aimed towards sensitives!]

poptartslover462
teen, 17 years old
 
Experiencing Life
It was a great film of different time periods. A great film of relationships.

linzlu
teen, 15 years old
 
Great!
One of the best movies I've ever seen! I loved unraveling the plot, and the story was magnificent. give this movie a chance.

 
not for kids
A Fantastic film, but VERY confusing and hard to understand. It's very hard to follow. After seeing the film, I still didn't understand it. It made me cry so much though. It really touched me. I wouldn't say it has a good moral though. As she was able to change what time has done, in reality...you can't do that. I didn't find it violent, but I heard there was a seen that is apparently 'disturbing', that isn't the seen where he gets killed by a car. I did not see this other scene as I didn't see every part of it. I missed about half an hour of it or something. I don't think Kids would like it as it is very romantic and the confusing factor might be too much

ArabianHorses
teen, 16 years old
 
Love Sandra...hate the movie
I hated this, I am Sandra Bullocks biggest fan and think she is awesome but Keanu Reeves makes me wanna throw-up. I just think he is a terrible actor and is very unattractive which ruined the movie for me. Plus some parts were super corny "I'll find a way to be close to you, to take care of you" really?! It was just badddd.

 
Sweet movie. Teens and Adults will enjoy it. : )
I really like this movie. It was well written, sweet, and made me cry at the end. It had some language in it. One negative element was a (subtle) message of how Kate was in love with Alex, but she felt she could never have him, so she tries getting over him by having an old boyfriend move in. A message of "casual sex". Though no scenes show inappropriate material, its a message of "you can sleep with someone you don't really love, it'll all work out in the end." Good teaching opportunity for parents of teens.

 
It Grows On You...
It is a bit disjointed and takes a while to put the pieces together, but after you leave the theater, it grows on you. I took a 14 and 16 year old with me. They both loved it...well, the 14 year old girl did. The 16 year old boy had a bit of trouble figuring out which time they were in...it does flip back and forth a bit. Could have really done more with that. The cussing is minimal and mostly not by the main characters. No sex, which was great. It was good. I'll see it again when it comes out on video.

 
A Little Slow at a Few Parts, But Overall Very Good
"The Lake House" introduces a new idea into the realm of romance movies, and personally, I liked it. Obviously, as most all romances go, the plot is rather predictable, but it is nice to see originality in a genre that had yet to have any for a long time. If you aren't the kind of person that analyzes a movie and notices things that can't happen (like Alex planting a tree for Kate and it being fully matured in only two years), then I reccommend this movie to anyone looking for some fresh ideas in a tired genre. As for content, I didn't think the language was bad, but I believe some parents will be horrified that they say "sh*t" in a PG movie-- so just a warning. But that's basically it for content.

 
Great love story
This is a great story, and if you like Somewhere In Time with Jane Seymore and Christopher Reeve, you'll probably like this one better. It has some great twists, but sometimes they are predictable. Still, a great movie with no sex!

 
I say.....
Cutsie so-so romance. A clean flick for gals 10 and up and waant to watch a "mature grown up movie". Its to bad though that the idea for the movie was better than the movie itself.

OwlCityFan
teen, 16 years old
 
Fantastic Movie!!! younger kids may not get the complex story
This is a fantastic love story! The time element to it adds depth to the story and makes it worthwhile and interesting. I think Alex is a good role model because he is gentle and kind and does many 'random acts of kindness' for Kate. She also helps him when he's grieving. Only a few cuss words, and no sexual content. Some drinking at social get-togethers but no one is ever depicted as being drunk. I LOVE this movie. The reason I chose age 13+ is because anyone younger wouldn't understand the kind of complex story. Don't hesitate to watch this one!!!!

brittbrittthatsme
teen, 17 years old
 
This movie is something every one should see! it shows how if you keep pushing yourself to gets something you will and that you can get there! The movie is a great romantic movie with family and a bit of comedy. I would totally recommend it.

MikaylaaMadisonn
teen, 16 years old
 
great movie!!!!!!!!

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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