 | 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. |
Summer Eleven
- Review Date: April 27, 2011
- PG
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2011
Common Sense Media says
Serious subjects handled delicately in best friends pic.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this film about four girls the summer before middle school made the Heartland and Family Film Festival circuits before making it to DVD and as such is focused on being uplifting family fare. So while it tackles mature themes such as divorce, homelessness, and an older brother coming home from Iraq in a wheelchair, it does so rather mildly and offers some pat answers to these difficult problems. There's mild swearing in one scene where there's also beer drinking by adults. Also, one of the girls asks how people get pregnant, the camera cuts away assuming the other girls tell her, and then you see her say "My parents did that?!"
What's the story?
It's the summer before middle school for four girls in an L.A. neighborhood and it's time to hang out, chase the ice cream truck, have sleepovers in the backyard, and talk out all 11-year-old worries and problems. Besides the fear of a new school in the fall, these 11-year-olds are facing bigger issues. Vanessa (Alice Ziolkoski) is trying to make it as a child actress and really wants to do a feature film, Jess (Sarah Butterworth) is coping with her parents' separation and her mom's boyfriend who seems to have taken over their home, Lizzie (Meaghan Hughes) has her brother return home from Iraq changed both physically and mentally, and Peri (Sydney Fox) is living out of the family car with her mother and brother right under the noses of their former neighbors.
Is it any good?
There are so few movies about girls this age being regular 11-year-olds it makes this one seem refreshing somehow, despite its faults. The girls are all earnest, thoughtful, and sweet and feel very real. Their struggles are real, too, with a brother home from Iraq, impending divorce, and the sad result of a foreclosed home.
Thankfully none of these issues drives the movie to melodrama -- instead it errs on the side of movie-of-the-week patness. Living out of your car? Move into our guest house while you get back on your feet. Hmmm. And while the pace is leisurely like a kid's summer before homework and sports practice, it really drags in places, making the 93-minute running time feel much longer.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about movies featuring 11-year-old girls. Can you think of many? Why do you think there are so few?
For girls around this age, could you relate to the other girls? Do you like that they seem like normal kids, or do you prefer girls who sing and dance on the Disney Channel?
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- Teens & kids
Parent
June 16, 2011
AGE
Great Movie for girls entering middle school
This is a great movie for girls entering middle school. It opens the door for discussions on how babies are created, drinking, and other issues adolescence face. What I liked most was that the movie showed people in a variety of life circumstances such as divorce, war, death, homelessnes, single parenting..... I'm working on teaching my girls empathy and the movie did a great job at allowing the viewer to "feel" the emotions of the characters. My four daughters ages 2-11 years loved the movie because they could relate to the characters more than the typical Disney movie. The acting was ok, but definately not blockbuster material. Overall we loved it!!!!!
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Adult
August 30, 2011
AGE
Really awful acting and script.
Content is tame, and the story lines are somewhat interesting. However, the acting and script are really horrible. I haven't seen a more poorly scripted/acted movie in a very long time. There aren't many movies for the tween group, true, but this one is completely pointless and skippable unless you want to demonstrate what bad acting looks like.
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Parent
August 14, 2011
AGE
Honest Film About Young Kids
This is an honest movie about girls 10 -11 years old who are doing drugs, suffering from personality disorders. These are just regular kids. When they meet two boys, they are just normal young boys. I think just about any parent would be comfortable with watching this film with his or her "tweener" daughter. The acting wasn't outstanding, but I would say Sarah Butterworth, as Jess, gave a very good performance. Hope to see her again someday in the future.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 10 years old
October 3, 2011
AGE
ok
i really like the characters,but it got a bit boring
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Kid, 11 years old
August 13, 2011
AGE
NOT A TWEEN MOVIE!!
I saw this film with my BFF at a sleepover (Netflix) instead of Beastly because it was supposed to be a good chik flik, although it was PG and sounded a little stupid. It would be great for seven to eight and nine year old girls who giggle at this kind of stuff-in fact, it would be perfect for them, because it's their age level. But tweens? It was a little ridiculous. The acting was fake, and the actors looked like eight year olds, not eleven. But for little kids-they'll love this. Just like Beezus and Ramona, exit the older sister. An uplifting film for some but plain dissapionting for me.
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Kid, 10 years old
September 11, 2011
AGE
Don't even bother.
It was a huge let down. I thought it would be a nice movie about 4 girls having a summer mission and having a great time. Totally visa verso. What about the girl who goes out at night and always sees those old people dancing and the woman has a gas tank. Then the woman is shown gone. So stupid it was funny!
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Kid, 11 years old
August 28, 2011
AGE
Really Cute
It's a good movie with a good message.It's really cute and it might make you shed a happy and sad tear. I also think it's a great family and sleepover move. :)
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Kid, 12 years old
November 18, 2011
AGE
jessie
i think it is the best movie ever althogh the very little langauge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Parent
November 20, 2011
AGE
Good movie with real world messages
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Teen, 14 years old
November 13, 2011
AGE
Review on Summer Eleven
I think it is a very good movie. But, if you would not like your child to hear the words Dammit! and Hell! It cuts off a part when the kids talk about sex. This may cause them to ask how do you get pregnant. I think it's for kids 10 and up.
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| Topics: | friendship |
| Studio: | Image Entertainment |
| Director: | Joseph Kell |
| Cast: | Alice Ziolkoski, Meaghan Hughes, Sarah Butterworth, Sydney Fox |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 93 minutes |
| DVD release date: | April 26, 2011 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | mild thematic elements and brief language |
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