good movie, but they changed the ending which really upset me (since i have previously read the book and loved every second of it). it has good morals and role models but i'm just saying that if you have read the book, you will likely be somewhat disappointed.
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My Sister's Keeper
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 15; suggested age 14. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Sad drama has heavy themes about and illness, family.
Themes in this movie include: family relationships, growing up, loss
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 14–15
The good stuff
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Role models:
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
About My Sister's Keeper
Parents need to know that this tearjerking drama explores some heavy themes that younger audiences may find difficult to process without guidance. A teenager is terminally ill, and her march to the end is painful: She vomits after chemo, her hair and eyebrows fall out, and more. The effects of her illness on her family are are similarly heartbreaking to watch. The film also touches on teenage sexuality and drinking and has some fairly infrequent swearing, including "f--k" and "s--t."
Read our full review by S. Jhoanna Robledo
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about how a serious illness can change a family's dynamics. Does the movie accurately portray a family in distress? Does it find any bright side in a very sad story? How do movies generally depict terminal illnesses? Is this one any different?
- Families can also discuss the consequences of teenage drinking, which the movie touches on briefly.
Our Members Say
See all 27 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Excellent movie, but for 13 and up
i absolutely loved this movie. be prepared to cry, but it was worth it. you will hear a lot of language in it, and some drinking, but i think the positives outweigh the negatives. it has a very strong message, and i think that mature 13 year olds and up will really appreciate it. i wouldn't let someone below 13 see it, due to language, sexual content, and drinking. my sister's keeper was a heartfelt story about a teenage girl struggling with cancer, and her sister's struggles with having to under go operations and transplants to help her sister. its about doing things for the people you love, and knowing that there's a time when you need to let go of the ones you love. it's truly inspiring, and i would definitely recommend it.
- I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
This movie hit home for me because both my dad and grandmother have had cancer so i had a lot of trouble not tearing up during it. Its what i like to call a happy sad movie, the family fights because of the hard times but in the end they are closer for it. it has a lot of things you can learn form and talk about. It can all so help to understand what happens when you get sick like this.
- I rate this title on for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Bring tissues
its so SAD!!!!!!but it was an amazing movie.it gave me chills the whole time!
- I rate this title on for age 14 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Excessive consumerism
- My highlights are:
My Sister's Keeper, both the book and the movie is about the bond between two sisters and learning when to let go and when to hold on. The message of the book was literally, that above all Anna loved her sister. Anna loved her sister enough to let her go even though she wanted her to stay, loved her enough to do something she didn't want to. Even though it meant making everybody angry at her. The message of the movie was learnin when to let go of people you love. Personally I think you should wait until your kids are 14 and up to see this movie, not because of drugs, sex, swearing, or violence; but because the message of the story might be a little high brow for most younger kids to get. The movie is a tearjerker and even adults will spend a lot of the movie crying.
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
the movie was sad :(
i cried
- I rate this title on for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
I liked this movie a lot - went to see it alone as my 9 year old wanted to see it and after reading reviews decided to check it out myself first. I decided it was inappropriate for her and she is a rather mature 9. It wasn't the cancer/death issue that concerned me but the sexual inferences.
- I rate this title on for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
I loved this movie so much. Its the only movie that has made me cry a lot. Its heart warming and is kinda a chick flick but I think guys would like it too. I saw this with my sister who is 12 and I think it was ok for her to see it. I think anyone 11 or 12 and older could handle it. Its a little iffy at parts but it was an amazing movie.
- I rate this title on for age 9 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
good sad movie
i say this and i cryed. it was a very good movie and it shows to always be strong no matter what.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
Book was better, but the movie still did the job!
I read the book My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and loved it. I always go into the theater of a book-made-movie trying to let go of any exceptations I have about the movie matching up to the book. I did the same with this movie. It is hard not to compare the book and the movie. I was not, however, disapointed. Yes, the movie was quite different from the book (especially the ending), but it had the same feeling as the book did. Now if you haven't read the book-- you don't have to look at it objectively. It was a touching story about a girl fighting her sick sister's battles. No matter if you've read the book or not, you're in for an enthralling movie... also, you might want to bring tissues.
- I rate this title on for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
Bad movie if you read the book, otherwise just OK
no i didn't like the movie because if you have read the book, it is completely different from the movie. One character from the book isn't even in the movie. The ending was changed in the movie, which destroyed the original message. Also there were many scenes in the movie that weren't in the book, and many that were added.
- I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
this movie made my grandma cry
- I rate this title on for age 16 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
FROM A CANCER SURVIVORS POINT OF VIEW
As a past teenage cancer survivor, I thought this movie was absolutely fantastic. It really shows teens how bad cancer really is and is definitely factual in medical terms and visual issues. Having gone thru all these treatments, it was truly great to see this movie that shows everyone the real experience people like me have gone thru. I highly recommend seeing it to others.
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
A 10 year old view
I'll tell you what I think. On a 1-10 scale Language- 6 Violence-2 Mature Emotion-9 Sex-4 Message-8 It stinks, to me. I read the book before seeing the movie, and was very dissapointed. While the movie itself was great, it barely was in plot. For anybody who has not read the book, you'll proboly love it. Anybody who has, prepare for dissapointment. Recomend it for mature 12 year olds and up. I cried most of the movie.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
A great movie
I loved this movie. I cried almost the whole time, but it was great and showed how a family can be torn apart and put back together. I definitely recommend it.
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
sad, deppressing, don't watch unless under 13
it is about a girl (kate) who got cancer when she was about 6. she needed blood from her blood type so they had a girl baby (anna) who does test until she says no when they want to transplant her kidney to kate. she hires a lawyer and they go to court. the lawyer has seizures so he has a dog that gets crazy when he knows the lawyer is going to have a seizure. includes blood, grossness. i can't tell you if kate lives or not, ok i will, she dies. don't watch it if your under 13. inappropiate launguage.
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
I love this movie! It is really, really good. I didn't think it was as good as the book of course, But it wasn't like the book was 1000 times better either. I didn't like how they compleatly changed the ending from the book, but that ending worked too, so I'm not that upset about it. I believe that anyone ten or older should see this movie. It really depends on their maturity level.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My highlights are:
What You See is What You Get
"My Sister's Keeper" is a tearjerker. It knows that, accepts that, and doesn't ever try to be anything more. That's one of the reasons that it works so well. Another reason is the high count of fabulous performances, most notably by Cameron Diaz and Sofia Vasillieva. Diaz's is so impressive primarily because of her stepping outside of her comfort zone. Appearing so often in comedies, she gives a raw and ruthless performance as a woman whose sole purpose is to keep her daughter alive, whatever the cost. Vasillieva's performance works in multiple ways. She's believable, charismatic, and gloriously understated. She knows that she is on the verge of death and embraces the fact, strenuously trying to enjoy the short amount of life that she has left. The story is incredibly thought-provoking and grabs hold of you from the get-go as the wonderful Abigail Breslin announces that rather than an accident, she was manufactured (so to speak) to be a donor for her sister Kate, diagnosed early on with a rare type of Leukemia. The film then proceeds to show us Anna (Abigail Breslin) speaking to a big-shot lawyer (an oddly cast Alec Baldwin) and asking to sue her parents for "Medical Emancipation." Basically, she wants to have the freedom to decide whether or not to donate to her sister, especially when it becomes evident that she is in need of a kidney. The film shows us various flashbacks from various characters' points of view, building Kate's (Vasilleava's) story. In her ruthless search to save her daughter, Sara (Diaz) casts aside her husband (Jason Patric) and son and casts aside Anna's well-being. The best sequence of the film chronicles Kate's first love interest, a boy who also has leukemia. It captures with great feeling love and loss. With all of these ingredients, the film is bound to be good, and when you add in a wonderfully non-stereotypical judge (a very powerful Joan Cusack), you know you can't go wrong. It is stepped up even further when, toward the end of the film, a twist comes and punches you full-on in the gut. But the film isn't perfect. The direction is overly sappy and very heavy-handed at times, hammering across music-video style montages with music that contrives emotion. But contrived or not, it's still emotion. Expect a few instances of salty language, mild sexual content and some heavy themes.
- I rate this title on for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
I read the book and it was a little bit inopropiat. The movie is alot less inopropiat though. It really shows how family sticks together no matter what.
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Beautiful story..........full of love! Content is tender and shows the love/respect siblings can have for one another.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 57% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
| 57% | of parents say there are good role models |
| 43% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
| 29% | of parents don't think the messages are positive |
| 29% | of parents say it has language their kids can't use |
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