Common Sense Media Review
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Time travel romance strikes sweet chord; pot use, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Greatest Hits
What's the Story?
In THE GREATEST HITS, music producer Harriet (Lucy Boynton) is unable to move on after the death of her boyfriend, Max (David Corenswet), two years earlier. Whenever she hears a song that was meaningful to the two of them, she's physically transported back through time to the moment when they first heard that song together. While focused on figuring out how to alter Max's fatal outcome, she meets David (Justin H. Min), who's also managing grief after the loss of his parents.
Is It Any Good?
Brooding, lovely, and hopeful, this time travel tale translates an emotional experience into a literal one, using sci-fi mechanics to turn the link between music and mind into a romantic fantasy. At one point or another, most adults have probably been where we meet Harriet in The Greatest Hits: Mourning the loss of a loved one (whether through death or a breakup) and listening to music that keeps us in our feelings. (Today's teens should be grateful the cassette mixtape no longer exists—it becomes a torture device for the heartbroken.) And when THAT song comes on—at the grocery store, in the gym, in the car—we're swept back to THEM, again, whether we like it or not.
Writer-director Ned Benson takes it a step further here—because Harriet isn't just marinating in her memories, she's physically present in the moments. But try as she might, she can't change Max's deadly destiny—or can she? Adding in a new romance with David, the desire to move on, and a lesson that we will love again makes for a wonderful story. The movie's pacing may be a little slow for teens, but they'll get past that because the characters are music-snob cool, the ethereal indie playlist is respectable, and the locations double as an L.A. hipster travelogue. For those who love the wishful potential of time travel movies, The Greatest Hits adds some valuable notes that should help evolve the genre.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The Greatest Hits' idea about music's power to transport us to a specific moment in time. What songs do you connect with a person or a strong memory?
Movies often deliver the message that love is sacrifice. How have you seen this depicted in other films? Why do you think that's a recurring theme in storytelling?
Do you think the movie glamorizes smoking pot? Why, or why not? Why would that matter?
Why do you think time travel is a recurring plot device in storytelling? What "rules" around time travel have been created through movies and literature, and how does The Greatest Hits add to this lore?
How does the "love triangle" plot device compare to uses in other romance movies you've seen?
Movie Details
- In theaters : April 5, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : April 12, 2024
- Cast : Lucy Boynton , Justin H. Min , Austin Crute , David Corenswet
- Director : Ned Benson
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Queer Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Hulu
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- Run time : 94 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : drug use, strong language and suggestive material
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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