 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Boathouse Detectives
- Review Date: February 6, 2012
- NR
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2011
Common Sense Media says
Fantastic slumber party fare with problem-solving kids.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this sweet movie where kids get to play the sleuths to save a girl from living with her mean stepmother is a perfect tween slumber party movie. Violence is limited to stereotyped meanie adults getting pelted with paint balls and a girl getting her dog taken from her. Diverse kids use their various talents (and numerous cell phone minutes) to solve their case.
What's the story?
Since Anna's (Anna Harris) father's death, her stepmom Shannon (Stacee Riekof) has been trying to get custody of her from grandma (Maureen Eastwood) so she can steal Anna's inheritance. When Shannon meets a gullible lawyer and he helps falsify papers, Shannon tells Anna to get ready to move to Europe. In desperation, Anna ties a note to a birthday balloon so she can find her grandma and escape. Lucky for her a boy finds the note near his boathouse clubhouse and shows it to his friends. They start to work right away trying to decipher who Anna is and save the day.
Is it any good?
Let's be clear: the four stars is for kids, especially kids between the ages of 7 and 10. Don't miss the window, parents, because there's so much for this age to love about BOATHOUSE DETECTIVES. First of all, rowing a boat to your clubhouse -- so cool! And all the kids are ones you'd want to be in a club with. Ones who have cool hobbies and love animals and helping complete strangers. They're on their own solving a case with no bothersome adults in the way. They even live in that kind of quaint seaside town where you can tell parents never worry about letting their 9 year olds roam free (though always within cell phone range, of course).
For parents, there's no over-the-top gross-out moments to annoy -- okay, there's a bit of fake puke, but it's not bad. But you will roll your eyes repeatedly every time an adult hops on screen. The stepmom and dog catcher are in a tie for most overdone stereotype.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how each kid helped solve the case. What talents did they bring to the boathouse? Which talents would you bring?
Families can also talk about how this family movie is different from many they've seen recently. For starters, where's all the gross-out humor? Did you miss it?
Adults are pretty stereotyped here. Why do you think that is? Would the movie feel as light and humorous if the mean stepmom seemed more real and less silly?
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| Topics: | adventures, friendship |
| Studio: | MTI Home Video |
| Director: | Eric Hendershot |
| Cast: | Anna Harris, Mason Johnson, McKenzie Richards |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 85 minutes |
| DVD release date: | March 15, 2011 |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
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