Parents' Guide to

On the Line

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

So-so story, some vulgar humor in Lance Bass romance.

Movie PG 2001 85 minutes
On the Line Poster Image

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

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What's the Story?

It's love at first sight when Chicago ad executive Kevin Gibbons (Lance Bass) meets a pretty girl on the El. But he's too shy to ask for her name and phone number, so he sets out on a quest to find her. When Kevin blankets the city with posters in an attempt to find his dream girl, he becomes a celebrity and attracts a lot of women, much to the delight of his three friends.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

N'Sync fans will like ON THE LINE. Lance Bass (who also co-produced) and Joey Fatone appear throughout the movie and are cute. There are a lot of jokes and there is a sweet romance. There are some N'Sync songs on the soundtrack, some good songs by other performers and some cameo appearances by other stars, including Richie Sambora and Brandi.

For parents of kids who want to see the movie and want to know how bad it is: I've seen worse. The script is really terrible, not just dumb but sloppy. Furthermore, the movie unforgiveably wastes the talents of Dave Foley and Jerry Stiller. On the scale of pop star vanity productions that reaches from the depths of Glitter and Can't Stop the Music to the pinnacle of Hard Day's Night, it is not very good but not destined for status as a legendary disaster. It's about as harmless as an average sitcom episode.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how it can be hard to take a risk. Parents may want to talk about some of their own experiences and how they learned from their mistakes.

Movie Details

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