At Any Price

Movie review by Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media
At Any Price Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 17+

Indie drama's messages undercut by weak story, racy content.

R 2013 105 minutes
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 1 review

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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 At Any Price -- an indie drama about a family of corn farmers in Illinois -- raises some serious social, political, and economic issues but loses traction due to a weak story and characters who aren't exactly admirable. Sexual content is a big issue, as the two main characters -- a father and son -- have sex with the same woman (the father is cheating on his wife with her, and the son is cheating on his girlfriend with her). The sex scenes don't actually have any nudity, but a graphic porn magazine is shown for a few seconds in another scene. Language is fairly strong, with several uses of "f--k" and "s--t," as well as other words. There are a couple of violent fights, one of which results in a death by hammer blow. A gun is fired, but only at a store window. All the main characters drink alcohol from time to time, with no lasting effects.

Community Reviews

wonder dove
wonder dove Adult
August 27, 2013
age 15+

Somewhat Enjoyable.

Pretty good film! 3.5 stars if I could. The story was interesting and held my attention. I watched this on a whim without really knowing much about it. If you like movies with a farm/agricultural feel with a troubled son & father relationship added into the mix, then you may enjoy it too. It's basically about a family who owns a farm, growing corn, and competing with other farmers. Henry (Dennis Quaid) is cheating on his wife, he gets himself into trouble when he's caught selling genetically manufactured seeds. If that is not enough for him, his youngest son Dean (Zac Efron) wants nothing to do with the farming business or his father even after Henry offers to give him the farm. Dean prefers racing cars and getting into trouble. But when things go way too far including cheating on his girlfriend and later being dumped by her, Dean finds himself in a scary situation involving a fight with another racer that actually brings him and his father somewhat closer. The story has a lot of drama, Zac Efron was no different in this than any other film he's done with minimal emotion in his acting. His character is very selfish, shallow and arrogant and he never seems to lose the attitude. However, great cast! Language is strong with several f-words followed by more common cursing. Violence has arguing, racing cars and a crash, a fight with pushing and shoving, hitting and a hammer is bashed into a characters head. A gun is used to shoot the front window of a store and something is stolen. Sexual content has nudity in a porn magazine, two couples kiss and embrace when she takes off her top but no nudity, a man cheats on his wife with another woman and sex is implied with moaning at one point, the same woman seduces a younger guy and he straddles her from behind - you see her hand on the wall and hear moaning. There is drinking but not frequent. Certainly not for kids or anyone under 16!!!

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 1 parent 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?

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