Parents' Guide to Let's Go to Prison

Movie R 2006 90 minutes
Let's Go to Prison Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By Jane Boursaw , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 18+

Punk'd star in adult jail-house comedy.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 18+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 16+

Based on 1 parent review

age 12+

Based on 3 kid reviews

What's the Story?

John Lyshitski (Dax Shepard) is a career criminal who's figured out how to get revenge on the now-dead judge who sent him to prison: watch gleefully as the official's obnoxious son, Nelson Biederman IV (Will Arnett), tries to navigate the prison system. When Nelson is wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to the pen, John gets himself thrown back in the clink and becomes Nelson's cellmate, ensuring that his new buddy gets the "full treatment." John's first advice for Nelson? The joint's a scary place, so make friends fast. Naturally, Nelson quickly offends the wrong cons and is sold -- by John -- to Barry (Chi McBride) for some cuddling. But just as John is basking in sweet revenge, things go oh so wrong. Nelson turns the tables and becomes the Big Man in the Big House ... which means that things aren't looking so good for John, after all.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say ( 3 ):

If you like deadpan humor -- in this case, skillfully delivered by Shepard -- Let's Go to Prison is a funny satire on the justice system. But with references to all sorts of adult-oriented stuff -- gay sex, lap dances, drugs, and prison violence, just to name a few -- it's definitely not for kids.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how to stay out of the prison system. What do you think jail is really like? Is it anything like what's shown in the movie? Why do some people find it so hard to escape the prison system? What can society do to help change that, if anything? Also, why is revenge never really as sweet as the media would have you believe?

Movie Details

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

Let's Go to Prison Poster Image

What to Watch Next

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