FlippedMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 45 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
11 OK for kids 11+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 90
    Boxoffice Magazine | Pete Hammond

    This is a beautifully crafted and special movie to cherish, one likely to stay with you long after most of the so-called summer blockbusters have faded into memory. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Maybe what makesFlipped" such a warm entertainment is how it re-creates a life we wish we'd had when we were 14. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey

    Flipped is the kind of small, special movie that wraps you up in so much warmth, humor and humanity that it will leave you wishing that stories like this weren't so rare. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Sweet, smartly acted, and charmingly old-fashioned, Flipped is a minor pleasure that will strike a lot of moviegoers - those who think no one makes movies for them anymore - as a major treat. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Though it's not worth doing cartwheels over, Flipped is a pleasantly nostalgic and well-intentioned family movie featuring strong performances by its young actors. Read full review

  • 60
    Time Out New York |

    Though the dialogue rings too chirpy ("Gee whiz!") and faintly anachronistic ("Get over it, man!"), the acting is wonderfully subtle, especially John Mahoney's turn as Bryce's grimly clear-eyed grandfather. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety |

    A well-intentioned family pic about first love that's overly concerned with period details and life lessons, rather than the genuinely sweet characters at its center. Read full review

  • 50
    Austin Chronicle | Kimberley Jones

    Far more interesting than Juli and Bryce's banal budding love is Reiner and co-scripter Andrew Scheinman's sensitive exploration of how parents shape their children. Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly | Adam Markovitz

    Worse, he (Reiner) vacuum-seals it all in a patronizingly wholesome package, like an extended episode of "The Wonder Years" with all the wonder sucked out. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    That Flipped isn't insufferably cute is a measure of its integrity. But it still strains to view the world through the eyes of children without a filter of grown-up cynicism. It is plodding and awkwardly paced. Read full review

View more reviews for Flipped on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 11+ Coming-of-age romance brings light touch to heavy themes.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that director Rob Reiner's coming-of-age story inspired by Wendelin Van Draanen's book Flipped tracks the progression of a childhood friendship/crush over the main characters' elementary and middle school years. In a sweet, almost old-fashioned way, Reiner captures the shifting emotions and loyalties of friendship and first love while also tackling larger questions about character, environmental awareness, and class. Save for a handful of salty words, the movie's content is pretty squeaky clean -- though the themes of longing, changing friendships, and the importance of character make it most age-appropriate for older tweens.
  • Families can talk about the movie's messages. What is it saying about both friendship and romance? Does Bryce and Juli's relationship seem believable?
  • Why do you think Bryce is so resistant to Juli's charms. She seems nice enough, so why the cold shoulder? What changes later? Is the shift believable?
  • Though they live across the street from each other, the Bakers and the Loskis appear to be on different financial footing. How is this discrepancy explored in the movie? Does it change the way each family treats the other?
  • How does the movie compare to the book?
The good stuff
  • message true4 Positive messages: As it portrays a lopsided childhood romance's evolution from elementary school to middle school, the movie sends the message that substance trumps flash and character matters more than anything else.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Both of the main characters are multi-dimensional, with both strengths and flaws, though Juli is much more self-assured and principled. She wants people to say what they mean and mean what they say; she values the environment and will fight for what she feels is right. Bryce is more responsive to others' criticisms, pretending to agree when he doesn't or putting someone down when he actually cares. Nevertheless, he learns the error of his ways and discovers the value of honesty. On the downside, one supporting character seems bitter and judgemental.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Not an issue
  • sex false0 Sex: A childhood crush. Nothing physical.
  • language false2 Language: A teenager says "jacksh--t" once, and the words "hell," "crap," "goddamn," and "a--hole" are also heard, though sparingly.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
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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