Parents' Guide to

Stargirl

By Jennifer Green, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Gentle book-based school drama has positive messages.

Movie PG 2020 104 minutes
Stargirl Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 9 parent reviews

age 16+

Beautiful movie and great soundtrack! Too mature for little ones though.

A very imaginative and heartfelt movie about being unique, having empathy, and not fitting in with the crowd. It's about the strength it takes to be true to yourself, even when you stand alone outside of the crowd. It really expresses how people can sometimes be unpredictable, unforgiving, selfish, and ungrateful and overlook good intentions. It's a very heartwarming and emotional movie that will definitely get you thinking and smiling! However, I feel that the passionate kissing scenes between the main characters, who are minors, and the intense story might be a bit too mature for little ones. I haven't read the book, but it's classified as a young adult novel, so that makes sense why they went that route with the movie. Anyway, for that reason, I generally would recommend it for 16 and up.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
age 9+

a really heartwarming movie!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a really great movie! my 6 year old sister loved it so much she started crying! she told me it was really good! a five star rating! you really should watch it!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9):
Kids say (29):

Stargirl's messages are positive ones for tween viewers, who will be drawn in thanks to the popularity of the book and the novelty of the film debut of VanderWaal. So, first things first: the young star gives a charming performance and proves she can act as well as sing. Co-star Verchere and a diverse supporting cast are equally charming. Fans of VanderWaal or the book likely won't be too put off by significant changes to the original story, the film's uneven pace, or some corny magical undertones.

Stargirl could be called the High School Musical of misfits and underdogs. But considering the majority of real-life teenagers are probably a lot more like Leo, Kevin, and even Stargirl than Troy, Sharpay, and the HSM gang, the film may actually be the more representative high school movie. There's no shortage of genre staples, including awkward encounters at school, football games, and the obligatory school dance. Stargirl falls into a growing body of films, like the HSM series, that show teens to be kinder, more genuine, and more accepting than the '80s screen teens of their parents' generation in, say, The Breakfast Club or Footloose. And while their typical teen identity issues are magnified in the age of social media, a minor theme in Stargirl, they're shown here to also benefit from healthier relationships with their parents. That, and the '80s musical references, make the film an okay watch for the whole family.

Movie Details

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