Parents' Guide to Sleepover

Movie PG 2004 90 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

By Nell Minow , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Not for younger kids, despite its PG rating.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Sleepover Trailer

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 15 parent reviews

 

 

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age 10+

Based on 47 kid reviews

Kids say this movie is a fun and entertaining watch for tweens, with many enjoying its comedic elements and relatable themes of friendship and teenage experiences. However, there are mixed opinions regarding its appropriateness due to some questionable behaviors, such as sneaking out, alcohol references, and mean-spirited actions, leading many to suggest it may be better suited for older children or mature viewers.

  • fun teen comedy
  • mixed reviews
  • questionable behaviors
  • age appropriateness
  • relatable themes
Summarized with AI
 

 

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What's the Story?

SLEEPOVER is the story of Julie (Alexa Vega of Spy Kids) and three friends who participate in a scavenger hunt with a significant prize -- the favored "power" lunch spot for the whole school year. To win, Julie and her friends have to get a man they meet on the Internet to buy them a drink, put their clothes on the mannequins in the Old Navy store window, and steal a security guard's car decal and the boxers of the boy of Julie's dreams. They promise not to leave the house but sneak out anyway. At the club, it turns out that the Internet mystery date is none other than the girls' nerdy teacher. Once that gets sorted out, they continue their quest. They climb on a roof, run away from a security guard and lock him up, hide in a shower stall while a boy takes off all his clothes and then steal his boxers, and drive without permission or a license. Bottom line? They cause a lot of damage for which they take no responsibility.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 15 ):
Kids say ( 47 ):

Sleepover is supposed to be a touching, lighthearted PG comedy, but these 14-year-old girls violate every rule they agreed to. While the movie pits the nice girls against the mean girls, by the end of the movie it's frankly hard to tell them apart. They lie, cheat, vandalize, steal, sneak out of the house and into a bar, order a drink with a man they met on the Internet, and sneak into a high school dance by telling the girl taking tickets she has to let them in so they don't turn into a lonely loser like her.

Vega and the other girls are appealing performers, especially Mika Boorem as Julie's best friend and Sara Paxton as snooty Mean Girl Stacie. The "why can't you understand I'm growing up" and "how can I survive if my best friend moves away?" themes will ring familiar with the intended audience, but the movie's irresponsible portrayal of extremely risky and destructive behavior and its distorted notion of girl power make it very iffy for tweens and eevn young teens.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether any of the characters in this movie can be considered a positive role model. Why or why not?

  • What kinds of consequences do you think the girls' behavior would have in real life? Why aren't those consequences fully shown here?

  • Why do you think Julie and Stacie stopped being friends?

  • What can parents and young teens do to get used to the idea that kids are growing up?

Movie Details

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