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Proof

(2005, Rated PG-13, Drama, Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hope Davis)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 13.
  • Is it any good?

    2.0
  • Common Sense says

    Sometimes insightful, sometimes banal. Teens+.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–14

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Characters wrestle with difficult issues (how to determine insanity and sanity), but all mean well.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Discussion of suicide.
  • Sex:

    Some conversation about sex, a brief, sweetly imaged sex scene.
  • Language:

    Some cursing, including f-word.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Some drinking and smoking (at a post-funeral party attended by academics), some discussion of drugs (prescribed and illicit).
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Proof

Parents need to know that the movie includes discussion of suicide and insanity. With the focus on conflicts within a family -- between father and daughter, and between two sisters -- the film includes several tense scenes, arguments, and tearful recriminations. It also features some cursing, a brief and gently rendered love scene, and references to drugs (medical treatments as well as illicit drugs). Characters smoke and drink.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the relationships among family members -- two sisters and, in flashbacks, father and daughter. How do these relationships affect one another, as the sisters compete for the father's memory? You might also consider the movie's questions about insanity and brilliance: how are these subjective states connected or different, and also determined by social as well as medical standards?

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Delaware
    I rate this title on for age 17 and give it 5.0

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 2.0

    scareding

    its for teens not for kids to see.

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