What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this gentle romantic comedy will appeal to older kids, tweens, teens (especially girls), and grown-ups, too. There are messages about popularity, values, and being true to yourself, delivered with insight and humor. Because the story places a 13-year-old girl in the body of a 30-year-old, the heroine's reaction to sexual situations is exaggerated and meant to be funny: "boob" talk, the beginnings of a striptease, a married man making a pass, mistaking sexual games for childhood board games, and finding a naked man in her apartment (no actual nudity). Characters flirt, kiss, wear some revealing clothes, and use mild profanity and sexual language ("jump your bones," "thingy" (referring to a man's unseen penis), "Are you gay?" "bitch," "hell"). There's some drinking (the lead enjoys that part of being a grown-up); marijuana and some mind-altering drugs are mentioned.
- Families can talk about how being a grown-up may be different than it appears to a child. What was the biggest surprise for Jenna?
- Can you think of some other movies that use switching bodies as a plot device?
- Families might also want to talk about the way middle-schoolers treat one another and how to make sure that you don't grow up with the kind of regrets that Jenna does. Is/was there a "6 Chicks"-type group in your school?