I did not laugh once. Vin Diesel just cant do kid movies.
The Pacifier
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
A crass, crude, and overly-familiar comedy.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 8–10
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of The Pacifier was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that this movie is at the PG-13 edge of PG. It has a lot of cartoon-ish "action violence:" no blood and no on-screen shooting but an exploding helicopter, a glimpse of a dead body, a lot of kicking and hitting. A parent is killed (off-screen). There's a lot of potty humor including many diaper jokes and a character covered with sewage. There's also some crude schoolyard language including "bite me," "boobs," "spaz," "skanky." One daughter wears a crucifix, though there is no further evidence of any religious faith. The portrayal of the bad guys has some unpleasantly racist overtones, and some of the "humorous" insults are sexist and homophobic. And there's intrusive product placement for Costco and other brands.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about how different people respond differently to loss and pain. What examples did we see in this story?
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More on The Pacifier
What’s the Story?
THE PACIFIER stars Vin Diesel as Shane Wolf, an all-business Navy Seal whose all about securing perimeters and drop-and-give-me-twenty. Shane is sent to rescue a computer whiz who has been kidnapped by the Serbs because they want who has created his super-secret "ghost" program. The whiz is killed by the bad guys (off screen), and after Shane recovers from being shot, he is sent to the suburbs to protect the whiz's five kids while his widow attempts to retrieve the program from a safe deposit box in a Swiss bank. The kids are undisciplined and acting out following the loss of their father, but they know how to love. Result of this meeting of opposites: development of mutual admiration through comic and heart-warming incidents and some cartoon-y stunts.
Is It Any Good?
The Pacifier might manage to qualify as mindlessly enjoyable pap if it was not so insincere, littered with gross-out jokes, and, with a tin ear for its target audience. Once he gets to know the kids he helps each one in predictable ways. Meanwhile, the bad guys are trying to get the Ghost program so everyone has to learn to work together and rely on one another, yadda yadda. This is all shown through crude humor, uncomfortably stereotyped bad guys, and a plot twist involving a swastika that few in the target age group will understand or relate to.
This crass, crude, and overly familiar formula comedy has material that is inappropriate for younger kids and jokes that are too immature for the older ones.
Movie Details
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Director: Adam Shankman
Run time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/4/2005, DVD release: 6/28/2005
MPAA Rating: PG for action violence, language and rude humor
Run time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/4/2005, DVD release: 6/28/2005
MPAA Rating: PG for action violence, language and rude humor
Our Members Say
See 54 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
The Pacifier
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
great family movie will make kids die of laughter
i think it was a good movie. it has action, funny parts, and its a perfect family movie. it has lots of martial arts violence and only a little realistic violence. there are two cuss words, but the cusses are mild. lots of bathroom humor. a speck of consumerisum
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
hilarious, but lots of potty humor
i loved it. it was funny, but had alot of rude humor. bad messages-a parent dies, wich is very bad messages. violence-some action violence, and one intense part where the professor is rescued language-a little bad language, but nothing serious consumerism-costco
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
will entertain most kids.
alot like paul blart, execpt more apporopriate. it has alot of action violence, and a man is shot once. there is a fight in the middle, but it isnt as violent as some other parts.a few girl scouts beat mean boy scouts up. one cuss word in it, and i think there is a few insults.consumiresem for costco.
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Kids ages: 9
I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
perfect action/comedy for any kids between 8-12
i think it is a very good movie, but its not the best. there is alot of funny parts, and theres action too. there is action violence, and a bad word or 2 and it has a ton of crude humor. it is really good family movie and i think most young kids would love it
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