Parents' Guide to

Peggy Sue Got Married

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

'80s time-warp tale is meaty teen-parent viewing.

Movie PG-13 1986 103 minutes
Peggy Sue Got Married 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

colten97
colten97 Parent of 13-year-old
October 10, 2012
age 13+

a classic - in the same mold as "Field of Dreams" and "Frequency"

I rented this film the other night when I knew I would be alone - that's just the way I have to watch this, alone - guess I'm not comfortable with people seeing me cry. I cried when it was in the theatres in 1986 and I've seen it maybe 10 times now - and it gets me each and every time, as if I were watching for the very first time! Sorry to drone on, but it has just the right touch - you've heard a lot of comparisons with "Back to the Future" - believe me, it isn't! If you liked the two movies I mentioned in my header, especially "Frequency" since it is about to be released on video - you will love this film! Kathleen Turner was excellent - I have seen Debra Winger in several films, including "Terms of Endearment" and though I respect her as an actress, she just couldn't have done this part justice. Nicolas Cage was great in his role - the whiny voice was a bit much - but it's hard to believe he was only 21 when this film was made. He plays a high school kid and a guy in his 40's equally well - he's always had a gift for that. Jim Carrey - then mostly unknown - displays some of the physical slapstick routines that would later earn him praise and renown. Then there's Joan Allen - as I saw this movie for the first time, I thought how much she resembled former first lady Pat Nixon in her earlier years - and sure enough, that's who she played in Oliver Stone's "Nixon". Helen Hunt portrays Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage's daughter - ironic, since she is older than Cage! It was one of her beginning roles as well. Without a doubt, the scenes with Peggy Sue and her grandparents are the most touching in the whole film. Think about it - if you had the chance to see someone again who had died long before, what would you say to them? What would you do? This wonderful film gives us the chance to find out. Will "Peggy Sue Got Married" ever be available on DVD for home purchase again? I hate to have to rent it each time I want to see it!

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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What's the Story?

At her 25th high school reunion, Peggy Sue Bodell (Kathleen Turner), recently separated from her high school sweetheart Charlie (Nicolas Cage), passes out and wakes up in her 17-year-old body. After realizing she's not dead, just stuck in her 1960 self, Peggy Sue decides to take advantage of her second chance at adolescence. Once she comes to terms with her strange situation, Peggy Sue exudes a confidence and maturity that belies her physical age. She befriends the class nerd (a future Bill Gates-type billionaire) and enjoys a starry night of passion and poetry with the school's sexy beatnik (a magnetic Kevin J. O'Connor).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (3):

In 1986, Turner gave one of her career-best performances as the titular character in Francis Ford Coppola's touching time-travel fantasy, PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED. (She's been out of the Hollywood system for so long, it's easy to forget that she was once an A-list actress.) Remarkably, Turner, with her eyes ablaze and her smile aglow, perfectly conveys every moment of her character's new youth. The energy is in her voice, her looks, her smiles, her movements. In nearly every scene, Turner sells the performance with such relish, it makes another try at senior year incredibly appealing.

In addition to seeing Turner at her best, Peggy Sue features early performances from Cage (who's Coppola's nephew), Jim Carrey, and the director's own young daughter Sofia as the pesky little sister. It's telling that two decades later, it's those supporting players, and not Turner, who are Hollywood stars. If Turner knew then what she knows now...

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about adolescent angst and sexuality. Although it's not common for high school sweethearts to marry right after graduation anymore, it still opens up a discussion of teen relationships and what the pressures are these days. How have attitudes toward adolescent sex changed since 1960? Since Peggy Sue says "if I knew then what I know now," parents can share what they would do differently if given a second chance at high school. Kids: If you could change a decision you made in the past, what would it be?

Movie Details

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