Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

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Parents' Guide to

Live Is Life

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Bullying, drinking in engaging coming-of-age dramedy.

Movie NR 2022 109 minutes
Life is Live Movie Poster

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Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is an engaging coming-of-age dramedy with enough story and acting talent to overcome the familiar aspects of this "hero's journey." Live Is Life tells the story of five young teens in the Spanish countryside who are spending one last summer together. They go on a quest of sorts, and what separates this movie from so many others with a similar story is that this happens to be a very good one.

For instance: While it's set in the mid-1980s, there's a refreshingly light touch to the nostalgia. Unlike other period movies or shows that rely too heavily on abundant pop culture references to see us through (Stranger Things, cough cough), Live Is Life -- aside from the mullet haircuts of the bullying teens, infrequent pop songs from that time, and an ironic prophecy of a future where there will be wireless phones that also function as computers -- focuses more on the story and evolving relationships among these five teens. There's nothing groundbreaking about the use of this genre (coming-of-age) and form (hero's journey) here, but what matters most is how effectively the filmmakers use these to tell a good story. In that context, this works.

Movie Details

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