Mixtape

Mixtape
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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 Mixtape address some mature themes about dealing with the loss of loved ones and traversing the difficult tween and teen years. A 7th grader's parents died in a car crash and she yearns to know more about them, but her grandma keeps her pain and her memories locked tightly away. Even when adults mean well, they sometimes make mistakes with their kids and don't always know how to show their love. Tweens need their friends for support because middle school is a tough place where kids bully and tease each other. Two teen siblings engage in a parent-approved fight, and there's mention of carrying mace and a switchblade for protection. There's also some mild language, mostly in taunts and insults, anatomical terms like "puke," "pee," "fart," "zit," "butt," "boobs," and "damned," "hell," "crap," "moron," and "badass." A character is sober and has AA materials around. Mention of "babies having babies." Tween girls discuss their fears regarding periods and tampons.
Community Reviews
Good for 10 + Or 9 if you think your child’s ready
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What's the Story?
It's 1999 and Bev Moody (Gemma Brooke Allen) is a straight-A 7th grader who lives with and always obeys the rules of her strict grandma (Julie Bowen) in MIXTAPE. When Bev discovers a cassette tape made by her parents, who died in a car crash when she was just 2 years old, she sees a way to get to know them better and decides to hunt down all the songs on it. Her journey introduces her to "Anti" (Nick Thune), a sarcastic record store owner who begrudgingly helps out, and prompts her to befriend neighbor Ellen (Audrey Hsieh) and punk classmate Nicky (Olga Petsa). She'll wind up learning as much about herself and her grandma as she does about her parents.
Is It Any Good?
This terrific rendering of the energy, innocence, and angst of the tween years squeezes a lot of emotion and a cast of memorable characters into its 97 minutes. Mixtape perfectly captures how tweens hit that critical point of growth where they push away from parents (or in this case, a grandparent) and look to define their own identities. The fact that 7th grader Bev's mom went through something similar, then ended up pregnant at 15 and dead in a car crash, makes the transition that much more meaningful. We feel this acutely in Julie Bowen's portrayal of the no-nonsense postal worker grandma, emotionally stuck in her inability to face the loss of her daughter or allow her granddaughter latitude from a predetermined safer path.
Life doesn't always go the way we plan. The tweens know this, trained for survival in the comically cruel social world of middle school. Good girls Bev and Ellen are reminiscent of Gilmore Girls' Rory and BFF Lane, and Gemma Brooke Allen and Audrey Hsieh are perfect in the roles. Same goes for Olga Petsa as Nicky, their classmate who dresses and acts tough but is also just tween girl waiting for her period and searching for her place. Record store owner "Anti" (a droll Nick Thune) is a recovering alcoholic with a world-weary demeanor and a heart of gold. If the characters themselves convey how even good intentions can go awry, then the film's overly-tidy ending should likewise be forgiven. Rainy, emerald-green Spokane, an interior city in the Pacific Northwest, was a subtle and meaningful choice of settings that matches the '70s and '80s soundtrack to set the mood for this story of love, loss, friendship, and life.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the concept of a Mixtape. Anti says they offer a message from the sender to the receiver and must be listened to in order. What's the equivalent today of a mixtape?
How is middle school portrayed in this film? Is it how you have imagined or experienced it? How so or not?
What was the concern behind "Y2K"? What came of it? Where could you go for more information?
How do the music, setting, and time period of this film complement the story and the characters? How would the mood of the film change if these aspects were different?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: December 3, 2021
- Cast: Julie Bowen, Gemma Brooke Allen, Audrey Hsieh
- Director: Valerie Weiss
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Friendship, Great Girl Role Models, Middle School
- Run time: 97 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
For kids who love coming-of-age tales
Themes & Topics
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