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Avg. Critic Score: 58 out of 100 Mixed or average 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.

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    A prime example of a solid romantic comedy. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Younger knows it's fun to watch Rafi and David cross lines of age, culture and religion. He also knows it's painful. That's what makes his movie hilarious and heartfelt. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    There are some one-liners that zing not only with humor but truth. On the whole I was satisfied. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    Despite the snappy brilliance of the setup, Prime doesn't entirely deliver on its promise -- something about the way it ends feels like a cop-out, and the opportunities for humor aren't exploited quite as well as they could be. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    Sure, this romance, starring Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman and Bryan Greenberg, follows a familiar boy-meets-girl scenario, but Younger turns the routine into combustible fun. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Despite its title, Prime is not a cut above. This romantic comedy's predictability and rather dull love story make it the cinematic equivalent of a slightly stale hamburger. Read full review

  • 60
    The New York Times | Dana Stevens

    All of this makes the movie pleasant, but not very memorable - a pale mirror image of "Shopgirl," which touches on some similar themes. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety | Ronnie Scheib

    Despite a comic Yiddishe mama turn by Meryl Streep and a sensitively nuanced performance by Uma Thurman in a convincing changeup from her recent kickass action roles, Prime remains an oddly juiceless older woman-younger man romance, with a Freudian twist. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Not one bit of the story tracks. But with these women in these roles, you're asking for truth? Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe Stein

    A romantic saga that dares to ask realistic questions. Read full review

View more reviews for Prime on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Predictable, sexy comedy pushes PG-13 rating.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie includes a lot of discussion (though very little imagery) of sexual activity. The protagonist describes her revived sex life to her therapist using explicit language (repeated references to male and female genitals). Characters drink at parties and in their homes.
  • Families can talk about questions of trust and betrayal. How does Lisa betray her patient, Rafi, by not telling her she's David's mother? How does the therapist-patient relationship resemble a parent-child relationship, but how is it also different, with regard to expectations of confidence and honesty?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Characters lie to one another repeatedly, then learn they shouldn't.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: One character throws pies at ex-girlfriends' faces; running gag has a grandmother hitting herself in the head with a frying pan.
  • sex false5 Sex: Explicit references for a PG-13. Frequent discussion of sex and genitals; minor imagery, including one bar scene with suggestive dancing.
  • language false3 Language: Frequent sexual profanity.
  • consumerism false5 Consumerism: Starbucks, New York's Cinema Village, Magnolia Bakery, Nintendo, Crate & Barrel.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Drinking at parties, in homes, and at a bar (to the point of drunkenness).
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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Dave White

4.0

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… there's funny stuff going on. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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