 | 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. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Orange County
- Review Date: May 3, 2004
- PG-13
- Genre: Comedy
- 2002
Common Sense Media says
Stupid movie pushes boundaries of PG-13.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that despite the PG-13 rating there is a lot of material that they may consider inappropriate for teenagers. Abuse of alcohol and drugs is portrayed as normal and funny. While on drugs, a character drives dangerously, has casual sex, and sets a building on fire, also intended to be comic. Another character is accidentally given drugs, which is supposed to be funny. A character pretends to be asleep so that he can watch a couple have sex. Some kids may also find the horrendous parenting or the fact that the dysfunctional parents decide to reunite -- upsetting. One of the "good guys" blackmails a friend by threatening to expose her sluttish behavior.
What's the story?
ORANGE COUNTY centers on Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks), a high school senior whose mother (Catherine O'Hara) is a drunk, father (John Lithgow) is too busy making deals to pay any attention to him, and brother Lance (Jack Black) is drugged out and "constantly recovering from the night before." Shaun also has a sweet, animal-loving girlfriend named Ashley (Schuyler Fisk). Shaun wants to be a writer and his dream is to go to Stanford because his idol, Marcus Skinner (Kevin Kline), teaches there. But when his addled college counselor (Lily Tomlin) sends the wrong transcript, he is rejected. So Shaun, Lance, and Ashley drive up to Stanford to meet with the director of admissions (Harold Ramis) to try to persuade him to let Shaun in. Unfortunately, they accidentally feed him some of Lance's drugs and burn down the Admissions office. Eventually, Shaun spends a few moments with his idol, and, like Dorothy, learns that there's no place like home.
Is it any good?
This is the kind of movie that begins with a comic death in a surfing accident, followed by a funeral at which female mourners wear black bikinis. Drugs and drunkenness are supposed to be so inherently funny that no actual jokes have to accompany them. Then there are the wildly un-funny moments involving forgetting to give a sick man his medicine and then having a lot of things hit him on the head. Shaun shows no evidence of being sensitive or a writer. Even in a comedy, there have to be believable characters you root for, and that never happens here.
Hanks and Fisk, as the ostensible force of sanity at the heart of the movie, don't get much of a chance to prove themselves as actors, but they seem to have some presence. Black, as always, even with terrible material, is a joy to watch. The talented actors in small roles -- including O'Hara, Lithgow, Tomlin, and Ramis, as well as Chevy Chase, Ben Stiller, and especially Kevin Kline -- are like the oases in the movie's desert. Kline, who seems to be on loan from another movie, has a very nice scene with Hanks, and shows us how a real actor can create a complete character with just a few words in a script and a few moments onscreen.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about what really goes into applying to college and how people respond to terrible family situations.
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AGE
Hmm...I really disagree with CSM's review on this one. I thought it was funny, had likeable characters, and surprisingly smart for a teen movie. Also, they really overreacted with the content--Orange County does sometimes push the PG-13 rating to the limit, but it's perfectly fine for teenagers.
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AGE
come my lady, come come my lady
Such a funny movie, I think it's fine to watch it with younger teens but as long as there's a parent there supervising to skip the sexual parts lol.
Then again it's more relateable to high school kids, so who knows if the younger kids can even relate & actually enjoy it. *shrugs shoulders.
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Kid, 12 years old
May 17, 2010
AGE
suggested for 16, iffy for 16-17
why we rated this iffy for ages 16-17
in the part 2 comes is rated NOT FOR KIDS
children young as 13 should not see this movie, it has violence in it
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
suggested for 16, iffy for 16-17
why we rated this iffy for ages 16-17
in the part 2 comes is rated NOT FOR KIDS
children young as 13 should not see this movie, it has violence in it
Was this review useful?
|
|
Kid, 11 years old
May 17, 2010
AGE
suggested for 16, iffy for 16-17
why we rated this iffy for ages 16-17
in the part 2 comes is rated NOT FOR KIDS
children young as 13 should not see this movie, it has violence in it
Was this review useful?
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Jake Kasdan |
| Cast: | Catherine O'Hara, Colin Hanks, Jack Black |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 81 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 11, 2002 |
| DVD release date: | June 18, 2002 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | drug content, sexual situations, and language |
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