Romance
Romance movie reviews
Just Go With It Review
This is the story about a plastic surgeon named Danny (Adam Sandler). His pick up line is that he’s in a horrible marriage. These women feel sorry for him and jump at the opportunity to comfort him. However, things change when Danny meets Palmer, a beautiful 23 year old schoolteacher. He doesn’t want to lie to her, but when she finds his “fake wedding ring” a whole set of new lies begin. The only problem is that Palmer wants to meet his soon to be ex-wife. So Danny enlists his loyal assistant, Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) to be his pretend wife. The lies snowball and the Danny’s troubles accelerate, but in the end he comes to realize what’s really important.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: June 7, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
See a clip of my review here, along with a review of Gnomeo and Juliet!
Talking Points:
I know many 8 to 12 year old kids that wanted to see this movie because of Adam Sandler. He’s funny, charming and great with the kids in the movie.
The characters in the film are very likable. Katherine’s kids (Danny’s pretend kids) were great actors, very funny, and entertaining for kids in the theater.
Sexual Content:
- Danny is a plastic surgeon, many sexual jokes are stemmed from his profession….enlargements of body parts was a constant joke throughout the film.
- There are many sexual references, which most likely the kids won’t understand.
Profane/Crude Language: Moderate
- The two kids in the film swear, which had kids in the theater laughing.
- Many crude jokes and a lot potty humor.
I interviewed kids and parents after the movie. They thought it was hilarious, however, most of them were Adam Sandler fans. One mom, who brought her 8 year son, said she wasn’t concerned about the inappropriate jokes, they went over her son’s head.
Overall this is an entertaining, fun movie. It’s not going to win an Oscar, and it’s not a deep, thought provoking movie; but it is a nice escape from our day to day concerns…… isn’t that why most people go the movies?
Princess and the Frog Review
“Princess and the Frog” is set in the city of New Orleans in the 1920’s. The movie is about a young hard working girl, Tiana, who wants to fulfill her and her late father’s life long dream of someday opening their own restaurant. However, when she encounter’s the lazy, but charming, Prince Naveen, they magically turn into frogs. Tiana and the Prince have many adventures and meet a lot of fun characters, as they seek help to become human once again.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: March 16, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
The movie has a lot of laughs and great messages. The film emphasizes the value of love over material wealth, and Tiana continually stresses throughout the movie that you get what you want from hard work and perseverance. She say’s, “Wish and dream with your heart, set your mind to it, you can do anything.”
The music was phenomenal. Very catchy jazz and gospel tunes. All the original music on this film was done by Randy Newman, who has done most of Pixar films for Disney.
I think most adults will enjoy the movie. It was fun to see the 1920’s New Orleans setting, Mississippi steamboats, and wonderful bayou’s.
Tiana, is the first African American Disney Princess. The movie lightly touches on social and racial divisions of the time.
The characters are very entertaining. There’s Charlotte, Tiana’s best friend, who’s a very spoiled wealthy girl, only wanting to marry a Prince. Then there’s a trumpet playing alligator and a lovesick Cajun lightening bug. They add a lot of humor and wonderful music to the movie.
The animation was colorful and well-done.
I have 2 negative comments; it’s a little long, 1 hour and 35 minutes, though the music should keep the kids attention.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Innocent flirting and smooching.
Violent Content: Mild
- There are images of evil spirits and fire-breathing masks, that may scare younger kids.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “Heck” and “dang” are used.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters drink wine and champagne.
I brought my 10 year old son, who thought it was okay, and my two nieces. My 16 year old niece thought it was a sweet Disney movie, okay to watch, while my 6 year old niece said, “It was good.” My sister-law also liked it, and really enjoyed the music, and the New Orleans setting, as most adults will.
Overall it’s a fun, entertaining movie for all ages. I’m giving it 4 buckets!!!!!
Leap Year-Family Movie Review
“Leap Year” is a romantic comedy about Anna (Amy Adams); a very structured, controlling young woman from Boston. When her materialistic boyfriend doesn’t propose on their anniversary, she remembers an old Irish tradition in which women can freely ask their boyfriends to get married on Leap Day, Feb 29th. Ironically, it just so happens that her boyfriend will be attending a cardiologist’s seminar in Dublin, late February in a leap year. As she travels to Ireland to propose, her flight encounters a storm, and her plane lands in Wales, so Anna ends up paying an innkeeper (Matthew Goode) to drive her to Dublin. Predictably, the two bicker their way to Dublin, gradually falling for each other as they race to get there by the 29th.
Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: May 4, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
It’s a feel good, lighthearted, cute, entertaining PG movie that pre-teens, and teenage girls will enjoy.
The soundtrack is great, and the scenery beautiful.
Amy Adams and Matthew Goode are terrific. Their characters are very likable and charming.
It’s a great movie for moms to take their pre-teen and teenage daughter, and not feel uncomfortable with the kind of sexual scenes that are in most romantic comedies these days.
Sexual Content: Mild
- The movie instills good old fashioned values. When you find true love, you get married, grow old together, and live a long happy life. A rule in a small town Irish Bed and Breakfast was that boarders must be married if they’re going to sleep in the same room. This is a nice message for young girls.
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- There may have been a few swear words, but not much at all.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Characters were socially drinking in a few scenes.
Though the movie is very predictable, and a little cheesy, it’s really enjoyable.
Overall, it’s a fun, charming movie that most girls 12 and up will enjoy. I’ll give it 4 buckets.
Gnomeo and Juliet Review
This is the story about two feuding families, the Montagues (the blue family), and their next door neighbors, the Capulets (the red family). This story is based on Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy, but in this movie the characters are garden gnomes. The two families bicker and battle throughout the whole movie, while Gnomeo, (member of the blue family), and Juliet, (member of the red family), secretly fall in love.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: May 24, 2011
MPAA Rating: G
Best Age Group: Any age
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review, plus the review of Just Go With It!
Talking Points
This is a cute, entertaining movie, with some nice messages. The two families are seeking revenge against each other throughout the movie, however, the film stresses how miserable they are in trying to seek revenge. It takes Gnomeo and Juliet’s love affair to help the families forgive and forget.
Adults will love the music; classics from Elton John, who is the executive producer of the film.
The movie is similar to Toy Story in that the gnomes only come to life when people aren’t watching them.
The movie is a nice way to introduce youngsters to Shakespeare. My son and I talked about the story of Romeo and Juliet on our way home from the movie.
Violent Content: Mild
- The gnomes battle and fight continuously. One gnome seeks revenge by getting a powerful lawn tractor that rips down their fence, and destroys the families lawn and gardens. However, it’s not too scary for little kids.
Profane/Crude Language: Mild
- Slight potty humor. One gnome says, “Let’s go kick some grass!”
I interviewed kids ages 4 to 12 after the movie; they all loved it, and thought it was funny. Parents loved the innocence about the film. However, my eleven year-old son thought it was stupid and predicable.
This G-rated movie is targeted for young kids, and they do a good job of keeping it sweet and innocent. Adults may get a little bored, but with Elton John’s music playing parents will be thoroughly entertained.
Eclipse Review
Twihards will not be disappointed in this third movie of the Twilight Saga: Eclipse. In this movie Bella is once again surrounded by danger, as the vengeful vampire Victoria gathers an army of “newborn vampires” to seek revenge against the Edward Cullen. Throughout all the violence and suspense, Bella must decide between the handsome vampire, Edward Cullen, and her best friend and werewolf, Jacob Black.
Rating: Five out of five buckets
Release Date: December 4, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
Wether you’re in the Edward or Jacob camp, both characters are great. Jacob had a lot of one liners, and added some humor to the movie, while Edward was an old fashioned romantic, and just looked handsome.
This movie has something for everyone; humor, action and of course romance. There are more action-oriented scenes in this movie, than the previous ones. We are introduced to the “newborn vampires” which are more violent and difficult to control, this caused a lot of intense scenes.
I thought it was cute and entertaining when Bella’s dad tried to give her “the talk.” I also liked Edward’s “old school” approach to not having sex before marriage. This was refreshing to see.
The flashbacks were well done, as we saw how the Cullens became vampires, and we learned about the werewolves history.
Like I said before, I think that most Twihards will love this movie. People not familiar with, or those who haven’t seen “Twilight”, or “New Moon”, will not understand and may not like this movie.
Sexual Content: Mild
- I thought that the movie was appropriately rated; PG13. Some things parents may want to know:
- There were passionate kisses throughout the movie.
- Bella wanted to have a romantic evening with Edward, but he wanted to wait until they got married.
Violent Content: Moderate
- There were some intense and violent scenes amongst the vampires and werewolves.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
This was a fun, dramatic, entertaining movie, great for pre-teen girls and up. I’ve read all the Twilight books, I’m in the Edward camp, and I am a Twihard, so my five out of five bucket rating, may not surprise anyone. I give it five buckets.