Under the Tuscan Sun

Movie review by Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Under the Tuscan Sun Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 15+

Book-based romance has sex, drinking, language.

PG-13 2003 113 minutes
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Parents say

age 13+

Based on 4 reviews

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 4 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 story of grown-up entanglements and expectations isn't too likely to engage kids or teens. A few scenes include partial nudity; others depict sexual foreplay, passionate kissing, embracing, and playful post-sexual behavior. Language includes one use of "f--k," several forms of "s--t," and a few other words. Not surprisingly for a movie set in Italy, the characters enjoy wine freely (mostly while eating), and background characters occasionally smoke cigarettes. The supporting cast includes a number of gay and lesbian characters, including the main character's best friend; happily, the movie avoids many Hollywood stereotypes when it comes to these characters.

Community Reviews

Rochya H.
Rochya H. Adult
January 3, 2021
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
FoxandHens
FoxandHens Adult
November 4, 2020
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
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

After her divorce, Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) agrees to take a tour of Tuscany when her best friend Patti (Sandra Oh) buys her a ticket. Frances isn't looking for romantic entanglements. But she ends up with an entanglement of a different kind, impulsively buying an ancient house called Bramasole, which translates into "yearning for the sun." And yes, it is Frances who is yearning for the sun, and yes, the renovation of the house is a metaphor for renovating her spirits. On this emotional journey, she will meet kind souls who will impart life lessons. A free-spirited Englishwoman, a kind local realtor, and three Polish construction workers help her get ready to enter back into life again, and a charming Italian man helps her begin by reminding her that she is capable of loving and being loved. Frances makes a wish for a wedding and a family in the house and when at first it seems that the wedding and the family are not the ones she wished for, she begins to understand that they really are just what she wanted. And she learns that she can help others who yearn for the sun, healing herself at the same time.

Is It Any Good?

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about all of the advice that Frances gets. What does she learn from it?

  • How does the movie depict sex? How does that compare to depictions in other movies?

Movie Details

Our Editors Recommend

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    age 11+
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    Predictable but pleasant movie for teens and up.

    age 13+

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