The Sweetest Thing

Movie review by Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
The Sweetest Thing Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 18+

Extremely lowbrow -- definitely not for kids.

R 2002 88 minutes
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 7 reviews

Kids say

age 14+

Based on 6 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie has some of the most explicit sexual references and situations ever included in a mainstream film. There are extensive and graphic jokes about oral sex (including a humiliating visit to the dry cleaner and a medical emergency involving a very personal piercing). Parents should exercise the strongest caution in exposing kids or teens to the language and behavior in this movie.

Community Reviews

dvdgirl
dvdgirl Adult
November 8, 2017
age 14+

not for kids.

funny cute sweet movie mostly for teens and adults.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much swearing
Tiffany J.
Tiffany J. Adult
December 9, 2016
age 17+

really good film

This film is amazing. I really don't recommend this film to teens under 17 because there is way too much sex. In one scene a woman is having a dream about having oral sex. I n another scene, a woman is seen having clothed sex. Also, in one scene, two women are in a car, one of them is driving and the other one is in the passenger seat. The woman that is driving drops her lip gloss and asks the other woman to get it for her (they are both only wearing underwear) and the woman leans down trying to get it for her and a man on a motorbike is next to them on the road and the woman who is driving makes out that she is having oral sex and make hand gestures and actions to suggest this. In another scene, a woman is seen sucking a man's penis and gets stuck with it in her mouth (I found this scene really funny) and everybody turns up even the police to try and get her unstuck, eventually her friends turn up and tell her to sing because it will sooth her throat because the man has a piercing and eventually she becomes unstuck. Somewhere in the film near to the beginning, the women are in a café and sing a song about penises. I think that this will at least be fine for very mature 16 year olds.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE SWEETEST THING stars Cameron Diaz as Christina, ad executive, full-time heartbreaker, and party girl. She lives with gal pals divorce lawyer Courtney (Christina Applegate) and salesgirl Jane (Selma Blair). They aren't waiting for Mr. Right. They are perfectly happy with Mr. Right Now. At least that's what they tell themselves. But they put up barriers to genuine intimacy in their romantic relationships, keeping genuine closeness for each other. Christina enjoys controlling men, dropping them quickly, and running back to share the dish. Then Christina meets Peter, he piques her interest by not being dazzled by her and by sizing her up right away. He mentions that he is going to a wedding the next day. So, when she can't put him out of her mind, she and Courtney decide crash the wedding. They're off on a road trip. All of this is just a thin excuse for a series of extremely raunchy and explicit jokes and situations, any of which would have earned an immediate NC-17 rating if this hadn't been a comedy and, more important, if not for the indestructible sweetness of Cameron Diaz, who acts as something between Teflon and a disinfectant.

Is It Any Good?

The three leads are so bright and even endearing that the fact that they behave like complete skanks doesn't compute. Their loyalty and high spirits and the fact that no one is taking this movie very seriously (they announce that there will be a clothes-trying on montage and then appear as Julia Roberts, Madonna, and Olivia Newton-John) make this a guilty almost-pleasure.

None of the men at the screening I attended liked this movie. Some of them even came out of the theater looking a little shell-shocked. But many of the women walked out smiling. The Sweetest Thing's audience may break down along gender lines, but believe me, this isn't your mother's chick flick. That is, unless your mother is an Adam Sandler fan, because this is an Adam Sandler movie from the girl's point of view. Written by Nancy Pimental, it's a cheerfully obscene tribute to girlfriends and of course to true love.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why Christina was afraid to get close to a man and why she was so concerned about having the power in her relationships. They should also talk about the way the friends showed loyalty and unconditional acceptance to each other.

Movie Details

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