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Parents' Guide to

Under the Tuscan Sun

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Book-based romance has sex, drinking, language.

Movie PG-13 2003 113 minutes
Under the Tuscan Sun Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 11+

One of my favorites. Totally NOT for kids under 11.

The partial nudity is the worst thing or else I'd probably rate it 9+. There is swearing though. (F---k, bastard, dyke and morw) But your twelve year olds hear so much sex talk in school that even if you did not talk to them about this kind of stuff they totally know about it. Amd your eight year olds probably hear this swearing in school. And bc of the internet there is no reason younger teens shouldn't watch it. BUT if your kid is nine or younger DO NOT LET THEM WATCH IT. Your 11 year olds should be able to handle it. Keep in mind your tweens know a lot more than you think they do.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much sex
age 17+

PG 13 but not for 13 year olds

Would be better if not for scantily clad art scene (really weird) and the undressing for the “sex scene”.

This title has:

Too much sex

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (4 ):

Like the crumbling Italian villa at the center of the story, there's a lot wrong with this film, but it's so enticing -- especially for its intended audience -- that it's hard to resist. The best-selling book by Frances Mayes about her restoration of a crumbling villa is beautifully written and wonderfully evocative, but it does not have much of a story. So writer/director Audrey Wells has taken the real Mayes, and thrown a lot of plot at her.

The problem is that director/screenwriter Wells tells us a lot more than she shows us. She seems to have no understanding of how to translate a story into film. The movie often seems abrupt and unfinished and the characters are superficially drawn. The script tells us how the characters feel about each other but does not make it matter enough for us to believe in or care about the way their relationships are resolved. Lane brings as much to the material as is humanly possible, but is given little to do beyond looking wistful and wounded. But it is all beguilingly pretty to watch and its message of hope and second chances is beguilingly pretty, too.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: September 26, 2003
  • On DVD or streaming: February 3, 2004
  • Cast: Diane Lane , Raoul Bova , Sandra Oh
  • Director: Audrey Wells
  • Inclusion Information: Female actors, Asian actors
  • Studio: Touchstone Pictures
  • Genre: Drama
  • Run time: 113 minutes
  • MPAA rating: PG-13
  • MPAA explanation: sexual content and language
  • Last updated: July 31, 2023

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