Georgia RuleMovie Reviews

"Georgia Rule" poster art

Gifts + Promos

Fandango Gift Card

Give the gift of movies with Fandango Bucks Gift Certificates! Design your own gift card, or choose from our collection.

Avengers Gift Cards

Superhero fans! Don’t miss out on these Limited Edition Avengers gift cards!

Need Help?
No
Avg. Critic Score: 25 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    A clunky family-therapy soaper. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    It's an interesting, maddening mess -- not a terrible movie, and by no means a dull one. Read full review

  • 30
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Proves to be more prone to malfunction than dysfunction. Read full review

  • 30
    Variety |

    No offense to either of them, but Georgia Rule suggests an Ingmar Bergman script as directed by Jerry Lewis. The subject matter is grim, the relationships are gnarled, the worldview is bleak, and, at any given moment, you suspect someone's going to be hit with a pie. Read full review

  • 30
    Los Angeles Times |

    Georgia Rule oscillates clumsily from shock to slapstick to schmaltz. The result of these big tonal swings is a cinematic strikeout. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    The film is intended to be light and whimsical, but with a core of sincere emotion. But it's as if the thing were made by Martian anthropologists who assume that human audiences are as twisted as the people onscreen. Read full review

  • 25
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    It tries to pass itself off as a film about feistiness, forgiveness and the bonds of motherhood. Instead, it deals lightly and inappropriately with promiscuity, alcoholism, drug abuse, grief and child molestation. Georgia Rule doesn't make you feel good; it makes you queasy. Read full review

  • 12
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    For proof that some actresses can take on a misconceived role and get out alive, there's Huffman as Lilly. Read full review

  • 10
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    Just what we need least: a warm family comedy about child molestation.That's Georgia Rule, which combines battleship actresses of the "Steel Magnolias" variety, fall-down-go-boom comedy that was obsolete in the '30s, Lindsay Lohan's cleavage and intergenerational fondling just for kicks. Read full review

  • 0
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    Certain words should be reserved for special occasions. "Abysmal" is one of them, and Georgia Rule is as special as such occasions get. Read full review

View more reviews for Georgia Rule on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Lohan acts out in muddled mother-daughter comedy.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that although star Lindsay Lohan is still very popular among kids, this definitely isn't a teen flick (remember, director Garry Marshall is the man behind Pretty Woman as well as The Princess Diaries ...). Lohan's character lies, takes drugs, has sex indiscriminately (she's called a slut several times), and is basically without any inhibitions or common sense. The movie also tackles serious family issues like alcoholism, religion, fractured mother-daughter relationships, promiscuity, and sexual abuse. Teens too young to deal with dysfunctional sexual issues are probably too young to handle the mature themes of this "comedy."
  • Families can talk about whether stars' off-screen lives affect how you perceive them on-screen. Did what you know about Lohan's personal life distract you from her performance? Families can also discuss the need for rules and boundaries. How did Lilly's lack of rules affect Rachel?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Rachel is known to lie, and she can't seem to tell the difference between right and wrong. But in the end she and her mother make amends -- albeit very painfully.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Lilly frantically pushes and slaps Arnold, who violently shoves her to the floor.
  • sex false5 Sex: Rachel takes off her panties, spreads her legs, and invites a guy to look and touch (though no nudity is shown). She then says it's his turn and gives the guy oral sex. In nearly every scene, Rachel is wearing either skimpy or cleavage-outlining (to put it mildly) outfits. She tries to seduce an older man and threatens to "f--k" a bunch of girls' boyfriends if they don't stop bothering her. Rachel's sexual history and the possibility of sexual abuse are discussed repeatedly throughout the film. Rachel calls Harlan's belief to wait until marriage for sex "retarded." Lilly kisses two different men.
  • language false3 Language: "F--k," "s--t," "goddamnit," "ass," "slut," "blow job," etc. Frequent, but not constant.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Cars: Ferrari and Mercedes.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Rachel drinks and does drugs. Lilly is an alcoholic, and she goes on a couple of drinking binges, consuming many, many bottles of hard liquor.
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.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

… one of the worst movies … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Read more movie reviews at Movies.com

Georgia Rule Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook