Share

Watch It

On DVD: Now | On Blu-ray: TBD
Watch it on iTunes Buy on Amazon

First Kid Review

For Families provided by Common Sense Media

OK for kids 10+

Goofy '90s comedy with pratfalls and some gunplay.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this Sinbad vehicle about the growing pains of the president's son is filled with comedic pratfalls. We get a brief glimpse of bare bottom when the "First Son" moons the press corps as a prank. There is some bullying, and the idea that learning to box will fix that problem. There is a sublot involving an online stalker, but this topic is dealt with less in a substantive way and more as tools to advance the story, but the fact that they are in the film does offer families the chance to discuss these issues in more constructive ways.

  • Families can talk about the problems Luke faces as "the new kid" at his school trying to have a life as the son in a prominent family. How are Luke's problems similar to and different than the problems other new kids face?
  • As a film released in 1996, when the Internet was still new to many people, how is the issue of cyber-stalking handled then compared to how it might be treated today? What can you do to be safe online?

The good stuff
  • message true2

    Messages: Even if he is the "First Kid," Luke is still a kid and needs to go out and experience life like any other boy. If kids don't get the love, attention, and care they need, they'll act out.

  • rolemodels true2

    Role models: Simms grows to see Luke as a boy who needs to get away from the demands of being the son of the president of the United States and simply have fun like any other boy. Luke transitions from bratty to likeable over the course of the movie.

What to watch for
  • violence false2

    Violence: Lots of comedic pratfalls in this one. Characters fall into walls, trip on floors, roller skate into giant birthday cakes. As the new kid at his school, Luke encounters bullying, and gets into two fistfights with another boy. During a climactic scene, characters pull guns as Luke is nearly abducted.

  • sex false0

    Sex: Brief nonsexual glimpse of Luke's bottom as he moons the press corps at the mall as a prank.

  • language false2

    Language: "Sucks" is said twice, "hell" is said once, and Sam is often called a "dork" by the bullies at school.

  • consumerism false2

    Consumerism: At a roller rink, Sinbad's character dresses as a giant Coke Classic mascot on wheels. Characters are seen eating McDonald's, Domino's Pizza, and Dunkin' Donuts.

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: Early in the film, Secret Service officers are seen at a bar holding and drinking beers, and one character appears quite intoxicated.

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.

View MoreView Less
Advertisement