Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Personalized picks at your fingertips

Get the mobile app on iOS and Android

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

All About Steve

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Sandra Bullock plays a stalker in unappealing romcom.

Movie PG-13 2009 99 minutes
All About Steve Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all
age 11+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Matt B.
Matt B. Adult
October 29, 2015
age 13+

Good movie for teens and adults

There is sexual content and brief strong language. There is one sexual scene in a vehicle and a lot of sexual references. The word p*ssy is used.
915071
915071 Adult
June 1, 2013
age 2+

good

good
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Mary Horowitz (Sandra Bullock) is a know-it-all crossword-puzzle editor at a small Sacramento newspaper. Temporarily living with her parents (Howard Hesseman and Beth Grant), Mary agrees to go a on a blind date they've set up with Steve (Bradley Cooper), a cameraman for a cable news channel. Mary immediately realizes that Steve is a catch and aggressively pounces on him, only to turn him off when she won't stop talking. After losing her job for making the weekly crossword all about her new crush, she decides to stalk him as he tracks down news stories with cocky on-air reporter Hartman (Thomas Haden Church).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (20 ):

Without denying the considerable comic talent of Bullock and Cooper (for proof, see their far better comedies The Proposal and The Hangover), this film is neither funny nor romantic. Instead of seeming nerdy cute like so many male protagonists in romantic comedies, Mary just seems stunted and desperate. It's disingenuous to believe that a walking encyclopedia who loves words so much would be so shallow. One meaningless tussle in the back of a car does not a romance make.

Bullock, so charming even in her lesser films, can't save this nearly unwatchable mess. Cooper does his best acting either put-upon or crazed, and Church earns the movie an extra star for actually eliciting a few laughs. His ambitious, arrogant reporter is a caricature, sure, but he's a welcome break from the train wreck that is Mary and Steve.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about obsessive relationships. Is Mary a stalker? Do you think that it's OK for the movie to find humor in that situation? What would be the consequences in real life?

  • How would the movie change if the main characters' genders were reversed? Would it be just as funny, or would it seem scary if a man was doing the stalking?

  • Does the movie send a negative message to "book smart" young women, or is it a positive one?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate