Bedtime StoriesMovie Reviews

Poster art for ''Bedtime Stories."

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Avg. Critic Score: 33 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
7 OK for kids 7+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Jonathan Curiel

    A fun bit of escapism that's even tender in spots. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    "Stories" makes a better Christmas movie than those generic comedies manufactured this time of year. The hits-to-misses ratio for its gags is above average, the sentimentality is kept in check and the film plays well to its audience. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety |

    With Bedtime Stories, Sandler has delivered on his promise to make a movie his kids can enjoy. What's more, he's managed to do so without alienating his core audience. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    This is a harmless and pleasant Disney comedy and one of only three family movies playing over the holidays. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The fantasy segments, played up in trailers, get bogged down amid the ho-hum tale of a loser making good. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post |

    Best of all is Keri Russell, who plays Adam Sandler's love interest and who brightens the tart rhubarb pie of her performance in "Waitress" with just a pinch of Disney sweetness. Read full review

  • 30
    The New York Times | Jeannette Catsoulis

    Soured by its enervated star and uninspired writing, the movie offers only tiny moments of joy, like a hailstorm of gumballs that's unexpectedly magical. Read full review

  • 25
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    The shortage of wit and the excess of goo can be summed up in Sandler's line to these children of divorce: "I'm like the stink on your feet - I'll always be there." Read full review

  • 25
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    It's a dispirited, galumphing mess. Read full review

  • 0
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    As a PG-rated film opening on Christmas Day under the Disney banner, Bedtime Stories would seem to promise fairly wholesome family entertainment. What it delivers is the glitzy allure of a hotel setting, smarmy double entendres, Ferrari lust, Beverly Hills bling and pneumatic babes -- one of the characters is a surrogate Paris Hilton. Read full review

View more reviews for Bedtime Stories on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 7+ Sandler tames his jokes for family-friendly fantasy flick.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that, unlike most Adam Sandler movies, this one is actually aimed at kids, so expect a lot of interest from elementary schoolers on up. The good news is that, also unlike most Sandler movies, there aren't any crass jokes, and both language ("butt kiss" is as wild as it gets) and sexuality (a couple of fairy-tale kisses and one brief scene of a clothed man and woman in a hot tub) are mild. The violence is also minor and mostly cartoonish, although there's some gunplay in the Wild West bedtime story.
  • Families can talk about how this movie is different from most of Sandler's other films. He isn't known for making family-friendly films -- why do you think he decided to make this one? Is it a success without his signature crass jokes?
  • Families can also discuss what makes a good fairy tale. How does the film itself, along with each bedtime story, follow the storyline of a traditional fairy tale?
The good stuff
  • educationalvalue true0 Educational value: Not an issue
  • message true3 Positive messages: Shows the importance of family and working together for a common goal.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Strong family connections: A single man gets closer to his niece and nephew and helps his sister. Characters work together to save a school from closing.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence and scariness: Some cartoony gun violence in the "wild, wild West" bedtime story.
  • sex false1 Sexy stuff: A couple of kisses and some benign flirting -- including a bedtime-story scene of a man and a woman in a hot tub (clothed). References are made to a Paris Hilton-type heiress' "reputation" for having a "good time" with guys she meets at clubs.
  • language false2 Language: Mild, especially for a movie starring Sandler: "butt kiss," "shoot," "jerk," "shut up," "stink."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Featured brands include Ferrari, Toyota (Prius), Disney (Buzz Lightyear), and Apple (Mac).
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false1 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Grown-ups have cocktails and champagne at a party.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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