 | 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. |
Tooth Fairy
- Review Date: January 21, 2010
- PG
- Genre: Comedy
- 2010
Common Sense Media says
Sweet but uninspired fantasy is fine for families.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this fantasy comedy starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is generally age-appropriate for young tweens and up. Like most family comedies featuring action stars, there's some rude language that you won't want your kids repeating (mostly insults like "shut up" and "fool") and violence -- in this case, players slamming into each other during hockey games (in one scene, a player ends up with a missing tooth). But also as expected, The Rock's surly character ultimately transforms into a sweet guy who believes in the power of dreams.
What's the story?
Derek "The Tooth Fairy" Thompson (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) is a mean minor-league hockey player with a chip on his shoulder. Once a pro, he's best known in the minors for accruing the most penalties in the league by smashing into opponents so hard they lose a tooth. He takes pleasure in telling young fans to lower their expectations and stop having unrealistic dreams. After nearly ruining the tooth fairy fantasy for his girlfriend Carly's (Ashley Judd) little girl, he's summoned to Tooth Fairy Land for the crime of Dissemination of Disbelief. Derek appears before fairy judge Lily (Julie Andrews), who sentences him to spend two weeks as a tooth fairy -- complete with wings, stockinged feet, and a personal caseworker, Tracy (Stephen Merchant). On call to collect teeth at a moment's notice, Derek's new job challenges his beliefs, his relationship with Carly, and his hockey performance -- ultimately for the better.
Is it any good?
The Rock has the powerful body of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the easy charm of Vince Vaughn, with a blindingly white smile that's hard to ignore. That's not a bad combination for a comedy, but it's gangly, bug-eyed British comedian Merchant (Ricky Gervais' creative partner in crime) who steals the show in this sugar-sweet kids' fantasy. It's not that the movie is completely awful, but it is awfully derivative and absolutely nothing parents haven't seen before. But with his dry wit and hilarious body language, Merchant at least livens up some of the bland jokes and predictable sight gags. The Rock looks comfortable enough, but there's just not much to his character that isn't summed up in the trailer.
It's always good to see Andrews in any capacity, and it's an even bigger treat to see Billy Crystal, who somehow came out of live-action semi-retirement to play the fairy in charge of gadgets. It's unclear why he chose this particular movie to grace with an uncredited performance, but his Jerry the Fairy is, along with Merchant's Tracy, one of the best reasons to see what's otherwise a so-so movie with a lovely but obvious message about children -- and adults -- needing to have dreams.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about the movie's messages about dreams and fantasy. Is there a middle ground between Derek's dream-killing stance and someone whose dreams might seem far out of reach?
Derek relies on his tough-guy persona and good looks. Is this a negative role model for boys and young men?
Is the action-star-in-a-family-comedy genre predictable? Did you know
generally what would happen at the end? Was the happy ending less
satisfying because it was so obvious?
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- Parents
- Teens & kids
Parent of 6 and 9 year old
January 23, 2010
AGE
This was cute and enjoyable to watch. It was WAY better than The Spy Next Door and deserves more stars. My six year old and I both enjoyed it.
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Adult
January 24, 2010
AGE
I really liked it! FUNNY...much better than I thought it was going to be. My 8 year old son loved it and got the message on how to be a nice guy and shoot for the stars. My 6 year old son liked it but got a little sleepy towards the end. My 4 year old slept through it....
I would say more boys would enjoy it than girls....but that is a boy mom talking! As for telling kids there is no toothfairy....they came VERY close and I think older kids would be able to read between the lines and figure it out...but then he became a tooth fairy so the adults were wrong, there IS a toothfairy. I am thinking my 8 year old will have questions next time he looses a tooth.....we shall see
What other families should know:
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Parent of 5, 8, and 9 year old
March 14, 2010
AGE
Sweet and Harmlesss for 3 girls, ages 5, 8 and 9
Overall I thought it was pretty harmless and it actually re-dedicated my 9 year old girl to the belief that the tooth fairy exists. I really thought it would become obvious to her, but she seemed even more convinced! A good message of not giving up and believing in yourself and others. Would own the DVD.
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Teen, 17 years old
January 27, 2010
AGE
keep tweens away
it hink that this movie is more fore 5-11 14+
like i think this is a movie to leave your "tweens"at home for :P
they like to think that theyre older by saying childrens movies suck but me and my friends who range from 16-19 all saw this and laughed while the tweens in the theatre just roled theyre eyes and swore at the screen
sometimes trying to act more mature only makes you look you look foolish
What other families should know:
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Adult
February 27, 2010
AGE
Good (if your kids like live action)
Cute movie with a positive message (believe in yourself and your dreams, you can't do it if you never try). Good physical comedy gags. My 10 year old loved it. My 5 year old loved the physical bits and all the fairy tricks. She was a little bored by the end, but she tends to get that way if the movie is live action rather than animated.
What other families should know:
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Parent
March 1, 2010
AGE
Perfect family movie, jokes are greared just right for little ones to understand!
I brought my 7 year old to see this yesterday and we loved it!! What a great family movie! There just aren't enough movies like that nowadays. Movies that you can take little ones too that the jokes don't go over their heads or make parents cringe because of adult themes. I read/heard many other parents say it was boring or lame...ok, well if you're looking for a serious movie for adults then yes, it's probably a little lame. But if you're looking for a decent family flick that you can just sit back, relax and enjoy then this is it. The jokes were 'slow' sure, but c'mon, with all the movies out there for older kids and adults, it was nice to have a movie that I could bring my little one that he enjoyed and understood the jokes (rather than going way over his head). I wish they made more family movies like this!
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Teen, 13 years old
August 24, 2010
AGE
Stupid; Copy off the Game Plan
This movie was very stupid in my opinion. It was boring and was another "Game Plan" but not as good.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 10 years old
July 22, 2010
AGE
Overall it's kinda boring. It's not a must-see movie but you can still watch it you want to.
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Teen, 17 years old
August 21, 2010
AGE
Family Movie
This is a good movie for the family...it has a great story and it's very funny movie...
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Teen, 13 years old
December 10, 2010
AGE
A "The Santa Claus" knockoff
i watched this movie on a car trip and i have to say, this was a total "The santa claus" ripoff. I mean with tim allen in place he did wonderful, bubt i'm not sure if the rock can pull off a whole
"workaholic turns into santa, or in this case. the tooth fairy."
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| Topics: | magic and fantasy, sports and martial arts |
| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Director: | Michael Lembeck |
| Cast: | Ashley Judd, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Julie Andrews |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 85 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 22, 2010 |
| DVD release date: | May 4, 2010 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | mild language, some rude humor and sports action |
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