Comedy

Comedy movie reviews

Boo! A Madea Halloween-Kids’ movie review

Teenagers can be tough at times, especially the ones with an attitude. Tiffany, a 17 year old girl, is definitely a spunky one . She doesn’t listen or respect her dad, Brian (Tyler Perry). Halloween night Brian has to go out of town and he wants Tiffany to stay at her moms. Of course Tiffany objects and insists that she stay home with a friend. Brian gives in, but calls his Aunt Madea (Tyler Perry) to stay with her. When Madea arrives she brings her friends: an aunt that smokes marijuana, her goofy brother Joe (Tyler Perry), and a woman who you can barely understand due to her speech impediment. Now the fun begins as Madea tries to handle the ghosts and goblins of Halloween, but even more challenging… a defiant teenage girl.

Rating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: January 31, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Moderate

The teenage girls wear low revealing shirts (showing cleavage) and crop tops. One girl wears a thong over her leggings and dances very seductively.
A couple of frat boys take two girls into private bedrooms, hoping for a sexual relationship, but when the boys find out the girls are 17 years old they kick them out of the party.
Madea shows her breasts to some frat boys (her shirt hides them from the camera) and encourages the boys to touch them.
There are sexual references regarding masturbation, prostitution, oral and group sex.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

Madea punches people in the face.
A body is found in the frat house and it’s throat is sliced open with blood dripping down the front.
There’s a creepy and scary Halloween influence throughout the film.

Crude or Profane Language: Excessive

We hear “sh-t,” “h–l,” “d–n, “b–ch,” and “a–” throughout the film.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

Characters smoke cigarettes and marijuana at home and at parties.
We see teenagers drinking at a party.

Will Teens Like It? Yes

The theater was filled with pre-teens and teens. They were laughing throughout the film.

Overall, Boo! A Madea Halloween is a fun and entertaining film. Having said that, parents need to be aware of the sexual content and crude humor.

Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life-Kids’ Movie Review

Rafe Khatchadorian (Griffin Gluck) is a very creative middle school age boy. He loves to draw cartoons, aliens and spaceships and keeps them in a special art notebook. Though Rafe doesn’t have many friends, he is very close with his younger sister Georgia. However, he and his family are dealing with a tremendous heartbreak. Rafe’s brother (who was also his best friend) had passed away a year before. His father left the family after their loss so his mom (Lauren Graham) is doing her best to raise the kids on her own, and with the help of her goofy boyfriend. Not only is Rafe trying to cope with his family drama he also has a hard time following rules. After getting kicked out of two schools he’s now in a new middle school. So when his rule driven principal takes his art notebook, Rafe retaliates by setting a goal to break every rule in the principal’s handbook…now the adventures and pranks begin. Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life, is comedy based on James Paterson’s young adult novel, Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life.

Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: January 3, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 9+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The film centers around a middle school boy who breaks the school rules. Rafe is questioning all the unnecessary school rules. The principal is more concerned with his rules and the students’ successful standardized test scores than the students’ well being.
This is a fun and entertaining film though parents don’t want their kids getting any rule breaking ideas; to name a few:
- Rafe sneaks out of his window at night and goes to school to vandalize. Some of Rafe’s pranks include covering the school with colored sticky notes with various drawings and messages. He also turns a trophy case into a fish bowl, draws graffiti on the exterior of the school, and puts neon dye in the principal’s hat.
- Rafe steals his mom’s boyfriend’s credit card number and buys supplies for their vandalizing.
Parents need to be aware of the mature subject matter of losing a loved family member.

Sexual Content: Mild

We see a couple kiss.
There’s discussion of “Expertly drawn boobs.
A student says, “My mom is really hot,” and the principal agrees.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

A school bully threatens to kick Rafe and knocks his notebook out of his hands.
We see animated characters fighting each other. We see a two-headed alien blowing his heads off with a laser.
Georgia, Rafe’s younger sister who’s not old enough to drive, steals their mom’s boyfriend’s car and intentionally sideswipe’s the car wanting to damage it.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

We hear “sh–,” “F your eye,” “p-ssed,” “sucks,” “butt wipe,” “frickin,’ ” “jerk,” and “stupid.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

We see character’s drinking wine.

Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes

Overall this is a fun and entertaining film. Having said that, parents need to be aware that the story revolves around a rebellious middle school boy who breaks a lot of school rules. Also, the mature subject matter of losing a loved one.

Bridget Jones’s Baby-Teen Movie Review

Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger ) is 43 years old and single. She’s always wanted to meet Mr. Right and have a family though that hasn’t happened yet so she’s making the best of her life. She has a wonderful career as a producer for the successful television news magazine Sit-Up Britain, she owns a small flat in London, and she’s finally reached her ideal weight! However, all that changes when Bridget meets a handsome American named Jack (Patrick Dempsey). In a drunken stupor she ends up spending the night with him. Six days later she runs into her former love Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and has a romantic evening with him as well. Three months later when Bridget can’t zip her jeans she discovers that she’s pregnant. Who’s the father…Jack, the handsome American man, or Mark Darcy, her once true love?

Rating: 3 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: December 13, 2016
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Excessive

We see Bridget in bed with each of her men. We see her wearing only a bra (the camera not showing below her waist).
There are sexual references discussing threesomes, virility, fertility and female body parts.
A group of woman lift up their shirts and we see a message written on each of their bare breasts.
A group of men moon a television camera. We see their exposed butts.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild

During labor, Bridget slugs a character in the face.

Crude or Profane Language: Excessive

We hear the f-word numerous times throughout the film. We also hear “sh-t,” “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” and “h–.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

We see Bridget drinking alcohol before she’s pregnant.
We see a character doing a shot of whiskey.
Characters are shown smoking cigarettes.

Will Teens Like It? Yes

I interviewed three 16 year old girls who loved it. They are fans of Patrick Dempsey.
This is an R rated film which means that kids under 17 need to be accompanied by an adult.

Overall Bridget Jones’s Baby is a fun and entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive sexual content and profane language throughout the film.

Ice Age: Collision Course-Kids’ Movie Review

Love is in the air as Manny the mammoth prepares for his daughter’s wedding while Sid the sloth is desperately trying to find true love. However, things get complicated when the acorn obsessed rodent, Scrat, ends up in a UFO and creates a series of cosmic events that threatens the Ice Age World. Now the beloved mammals; Sid, Manny, Diego and friends must leave their home and encounter a whole new adventure. Ice Age: Collision Course is the fifth movie in the Ice Age series.

Rating: 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 11, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 5+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

Sexual Content: Mild

Sid the sloth and Brooke have a romantic relationship.
A character mentions, “naked bingo.”

Violent/Disturbing Content: Mild

There is some slapstick violence. Space rocks create explosions and fire.
Characters get shocked and electrocuted.
Scrat gets hit, bonked and smashed throughout the film.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild

Name calling, a character says, “stupid.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: None

Will Kids Like It? Yes

Overall this is a fun, entertaining animated film for the whole family.

Ghostbusters-Kids’ Movie Review

It’s 2016 and we can still call the Ghostbusters!! However, this time they’re a group of females. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), a paranormal researcher; Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), a physicist; Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon ), an engineer; and Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), a lifelong New Yorker, all team up when strange apparitions suddenly appear in Manhattan. The four women get to work in the big city where they hire a handsome yet ditsy assistant Kevin (Chris Hemsworth). Together they create powerful weapons with hopes to destroy the ghosts and save Times Square! Based on the 1984 original film, Ghostbusters.

Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets
Release Date: October 11, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

The film has an all-star, hilarious cast with comedians Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. There are also a few cameos with actors from the original cast
Parents need to be aware of the potty humor woven throughout the film. This includes jokes about gas and other bodily functions.

Sexual Content: Mild

The Ghostbusters hire a very attractive male assistant. One of the female Ghostbusters has a big crush on him.
Their assistant designs a logo for the female Ghostbusters and it highlights the ghosts breasts.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

The glowing ghosts swoosh around New York City, destroy things and terrorize people.
Characters are thrown around. One victim is tossed out a window.
The Ghostbusters create powerful weapons to trap the ghosts. However, the devices are dangerous – they blow up vehicles and buildings.

Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

“Sh-t,” “b–ches” “d–n, “h—,” and “a–” are said throughout the film.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

We see the Ghostbusters drinking beer at a bar.

Will Kids/ Teens Like It? Yes

I interviewed a 10 year-old boy and his thirteen year-old sister. They thought the film was funny and very entertaining.

Overall this is a fun entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence and moderate profane language throughout the film.