Not bad for a tween girl film . . . just lose “The Little Mermaid” premise.
The Little Mermaid premise?
You know:
“parents enforce unfair rules on kid, kid rebels, things start to go well, but then something bad happens, parents find out, parents go to stop this nonsense, but then parents realize that they should have allowed “junior” to do it in the first place, parent apologizes, everyone lives happily ever after.” Whalah!
The Little Mermaid premise.
Aside from that, it was a clean, enjoyable film with strong performances. I wouldn’t expect less from Joan Cusak and Hayden Panettiere. And the lead was played by Michelle Trachtenberg, an up-and-coming young actress that we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the near future.
The story is about a young physics wiz named Casey (Trachtenberg) who discovers a desire to be a champion figure skater while studying competitors for a physics project. With the help of her coach (Cattrall), her new friend (Panettiere), and the boy that drives the Zamboni machine, she makes her dream happen.
I brought my kids to see it and we all enjoyed it. (My boy just won’t admit it in public) I even used the opportunity to talk with my kids after the film about “honesty” and “sneaking off.”
Should kids see it?
It’s you’re call. The film has no bad language, sexual content or objectionable material of any kind. But you can’t help but wonder about the effect of the consistent message from the media that “parents are dumb” but “kids know it all.” Ironically, a message peddled by adults who have “sold out” to ticket sales rather than truth. Watch MTV for half and hour . . . it’s the same thing. Just show ‘em what they want to see. Forget responsibility.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
Jonathan McKee, president of The Source for Youth
Ministry, is the author of numerous books including the new
Should I Just Smash My Kid's Phone?, and youth ministry books like
Ministry By Teenagers,
Connect: Real Relationships in a
World of Isolation, and the award winning book
Do They Run When They See You Coming? Jonathan
speaks and trains at conferences, churches and events across North
America, all while providing free resources for youth workers and parents on his
websites,
TheSource4YM.com and
TheSource4Parents.com. You can follow Jonathan on
his blog, getting a regular dose of youth culture and parenting help.
Jonathan and his wife Lori, and their three teenagers Alec, Alyssa and Ashley live
in California.
