Parents' Guide to

Not Fade Away

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

'60s-set coming-of-age tale has some edgy content.

Movie R 2012 117 minutes
Not Fade Away Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Is It Any Good?

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

First things first: The Not Fade Away soundtrack is as good as it gets, with the Rolling Stones, Leadbelly, and James Brown (and plenty others) permeating through the movie. In fact, it's the best thing about the movie.

David Chase (of The Sopranos fame) clearly made this film with love, perfectly evoking a very specific slice of history -- and the ennui and hope and idealism of young adulthood. Nonetheless, it ambles at a maddeningly slow pace, never quite finding the urgency to pull an audience through its hefty run time. The music's fun to listen to, but we need more.

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 suggesting a diversity update.

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