Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Romantic comedy about first love set in New York: A 10 year-old boy (Josh Hutcherson) discovers that girls don't really have cooties at all but can actually have similar interests and abilities to boys. In discovering this he also falls in love with his 10-year-old classmate and karate sparring partner (Charlie Ray). Also with Bradley Whitford, Cynthia Nixon and Jonah Meyerson. Directed by Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett. [1:29]
SEX/NUDITY 3 - A boy kisses a girl (a very quick peck on the lips), a young man and a young woman kiss, a man and a woman on TV kiss, and a man kisses a woman's forehead. ► Young women wearing swimsuits that reveal cleavage, and young men wearing swim trunks that reveal bare chests, look at each other and act flirtatiously. We see a bare-chested man in karate gear practicing moves in several scenes. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage, many women wear low-cut evening dresses that reveal bare shoulders, backs and cleavage, and a boy in bed wears a T-shirt and jockey shorts. ► A boy and a girl hug, and a boy and a girl hold hands. Men and women and a boy and a girl dance together, holding each other close. ► A boy and a girl practice karate moves, the boy knocks the girl to the floor and pins her, and he imagines a man telling him to "kiss her." A boy talks about kissing and tries to figure out why he wants to kiss a girl. ► A boy loiters around a girl's apartment building hoping to see her. A boy talks about feeling "strange" around a girl. A boy watches a girl model a dress, and he admires her and talks about how beautiful she is. A boy practices saying "hello" to a girl.
the review continues below...
VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A bully confronts a boy and a girl: the girl and the boy kick and punch the bully, he punches the boy, the boy and girl race away on a scooter and the bully chases them on a bike, but does not catch them. ► A boy punches a board and it does not break but his hand does (the boy whimpers, moans and passes out and we see him in a cast later). ► A boy hits many children with a ball during a game of dodgeball (the children are hit in the stomach, crotch and head). ► Two boys fight with karate moves (one boy is imagining), and one boy is knocked into a mirror that breaks, and he slumps to the floor unconscious. Two boys practice karate moves and one boy is thrown to the mat several times. A boy and a girl practice karate moves and they knock each other down several times, and a boy and a girl spar and she drops him to the mat in several scenes. ► A boy walks into a sliding glass door hitting his head, and a boy runs into several people while scootering down a sidewalk. A girl breaks a plank of wood with a punch. ► A boy and a girl yell at each other over the telephone and say that they hate each other. ► Five different boys projectile vomit on five different girls one after the other (we see goo splatter on the girl's hair and clothes and hear the boys gagging). A boy vomits into a toilet (we hear gagging). ► A boy falls to the ground and thrashes after a girl touches him and he panics because he thinks he has caught her "cooties." A boy talks about girls being "gross" and having "cooties." A boy sobs uncontrollably over a girl with whom he is in love, and he is convinced that the feelings are no longer mutual. A man talks about a woman "trampling his heart" and tries to convince a boy to run away from a girl before he gets hurt himself.
SUBSTANCE USE - People drink alcohol at a concert.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Love, heartbreak, jealousy, first loves, divorce, maturity and rates of development for girls vs. boys, courage, bullies, love sickness, public education vs. private education, torment, memories.
MESSAGE - Puppy love makes anything seem possible. Things left unsaid between people can complicate our lives.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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