Parents' Guide to

Lovelace

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Reverent portrait of porn star has nudity, language, more.

Movie R 2013 92 minutes
Lovelace Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

Sefal
Sefal Adult
June 18, 2021
age 13+

A flawless biopic!!

First of all, for a movie that takes place in the porn industry, this movie was surprisingly tame. There was barely any nudity and all the sexual content were off screen overall. Now that's out of the way, Lovelace was a great biopic and a great character study in general. Seyfried's performance was truly Oscar worthy and the emotional weight of her performance truly resonated with our family. Her motivations were clear and her personality was likable. Because of the emotional distress her character goes through, this movie should be suitable for 13 and up.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much swearing
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

After getting an abortion, young Linda Boreman (Amanda Seyfried) moves with her strict parents from New York to Florida in 1970. She tries to live a good life, but then she meets Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard) at a roller rink. He whisks her away from her stifling curfews, changes her name to "Linda Lovelace," and gets her a part in what will become the most famous porn movie of its time: Deep Throat. Linda's sudden fame becomes a blessing and a curse, and she finds it difficult to get away from the sex business once she's in it. Worse, Chuck turns out to be sexually and emotionally abusive. Years later, Linda writes a tell-all book, hoping her cautionary tale will help others in her situation.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (5):

In LOVELACE, San Francisco-based filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman deliver a sympathetic portrayal of Linda Lovelace, asserting her innocence and good intentions. (It's based on her own 1980 biography, Ordeal.) But as far as biopics go, it's not great. It shies away from too much intense material, and it would have felt skimpy if not for the structure invented by screenwriter Andy Bellin. The first half of the movie is the typical rags-to-riches part, and the second half goes back to reveal the horrors going on behind the scenes.

This device has the effect of deepening the story and stripping away the façade. Seyfried is the perfect actress to play Linda; she's both charismatic and sexy but also squeaky clean -- she brings her own layers to the part. The rest of the cast is peopled with excellent character actors, but the real surprise is Sharon Stone as Linda's tormented mother, who realizes that her strictness did nothing to prevent Linda's fate and may, indeed, have contributed to it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the sex industry. Does Lovelace make it look appealing in any way?

  • How is sex portrayed in the movie? Is it loving or exploitative? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

  • In the movie, what was Linda's relationship with her parents like? Were they supportive? Caring? How well did they communicate?

  • Is Linda a role model? What makes her sympathetic despite the things she says and does?

  • Was Linda too young to be involved in this world?

Movie Details

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