At Any Price
By Jeffrey Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Indie drama's messages undercut by weak story, racy content.

A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
Where to Watch
Community Reviews
Based on 1 parent review
Somewhat Enjoyable.
Report this review
What's the Story?
The Whipple family has been in the corn business for generations. Henry (Dennis Quaid) tries to run his farm with all the modern conveniences, as well as making money by selling genetically manufactured seeds for a big corporation. Problems arise when Henry's oldest son refuses to come home from his globetrotting adventures and his arrogant, petulant younger son, Dean (Zac Efron), only wants to race cars. Meanwhile, Henry is under investigation for re-using seeds and is also losing business to a competitor (Clancy Brown). Oddly, Henry's illicit lover (Heather Graham) decides to seduce Dean. Things get even worse when Dean gets into a fight, with disastrous results. Can the Whipple family save the farm and get things back on track again?
Is It Any Good?
Writer/director Ramin Bahrani made three acclaimed, character-based independent movies (Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, and the lovely Goodbye Solo); it's baffling that this one's so shallow and clumsy. It seems to want to say something about the plight of corn farmers in America today, and it imparts its information clearly -- but apparently at the expense of everything else.
The actors seem to have been asked to give very clipped, elevated performances, especially Quaid, whose character is a smarmy salesman. Efron, on the other hand, responds to every situation with his usual blank, dead-eyed stare. Several plot threads, especially one about racing cars, seem clumsily dropped, and a potentially interesting female teen character is likewise abandoned. Aside from its potential educational value around farming, At Any Price is just a mystifying waste of time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the farming-related issues that At Any Price raises. According to the movie, what's better about modern farming, and what's worse? Can/should it be changed?
How do you feel about Henry and Dean after they sleep with the same woman? Why?
What's your impression of the characters at the end of the movie? What lessons have they learned? What lessons have they not learned? Are any of them role models?
Movie Details
- In theaters: April 24, 2013
- On DVD or streaming: August 27, 2013
- Cast: Dennis Quaid, Kim Dickens, Zac Efron
- Director: Ramin Bahrani
- Inclusion Information: Middle Eastern/North African directors
- Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 105 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: sexual content including a strong graphic image, and for language
- Last updated: February 22, 2023
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.
Suggest an Update
Where to Watch
Our Editors Recommend
Indie Films
Drama Movies That Tug at the Heartstrings
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