Movie Review: Catch That Kid
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What Parents Should Know
The movie has some crude humor and schoolyard language.
Characters are in peril, including a car chase scene that might
be too intense for younger children. Some children may also be
upset when Maddy's father is paralyzed. The real parental
concern, however, is the movie's apparent endorsement of lying,
cheating, stealing, manipulation, and irresponsible
behavior.
Families who see this movie could talk about what made Maddy decide that it was all right for her to steal from the bank. How did she consider the risks and the benefits?
Common Sense Media Review
This is a movie about a child bank robber who heartlessly
manipulates her two best friends and risks the lives of her
friends, her baby brother, and everyone else in her path. And
she's the heroine! What were they thinking?
Kristen Stewart (Panic Room) plays Maddy, a young girl who inherited her father's love for climbing. He becomes paralyzed from an injury he received climbing Mount Everest, and his only hope is an operation that costs $250,000. The family's insurance won't cover it and they cannot get a loan. So Maddy decides to steal the money from the bank.
Maddy's mother ( Flashdance's Jennifer Beals) designed the bank's security system. Maddy gets a tour, taking pictures and getting the security code.
Maddy's two best friends are gearhead Gus (Max Thieriot) and computer whiz Austin (Corbin Bleu). Both have crushes on her, and in order to get them to help her, she tells each of them that he is her favorite. So, Gus lies his way into getting a model of the bank building and Austin lies to get a genial bank officer who wants to be an actor to say "turn off the alarm" so they can play the recording to the security guards. On the big night, Maddy gets stuck with babysitting duty, so she brings her baby brother along on the heist.
The kids do their best, the robbery has one or two clever twists, and there are a couple of funny moments, but the script is so fundamentally misconceived that it is, well, a crime. The head-scratching moments just keep coming. Why put Taxi Driver references in a movie for children? Is it supposed to be funny or admirable that a child lies about physical abuse in order to persuade a sympathetic adult to give him the information he needs to knock over a bank? Should children find it acceptable to steal from a bank because the boss is really mean? And what is James LeGros doing as an inept security guard who gets knocked out by his own cattle prod-like Taser? The real robbery in this movie is 90 minutes from the lives of the people who watch it.
Parents should know that the movie has some crude humor and schoolyard language. Characters are in peril, including a car chase scene that might be too intense for younger children. Some children may also be upset when Maddy's father is paralyzed. The real parental concern, however, is the movie's apparent endorsement of lying, cheating, stealing, manipulation, and irresponsible behavior.
Families who see this movie could talk about what made Maddy decide that it was all right for her to steal from the bank. How did she consider the risks and the benefits? A famous study several years ago found that when presented with a question like the one Maddy faced -- should you steal in order to get medical treatment for a family member -- boys were more likely to say yes and girls were more likely to say no. Why do you think that might be? Families could also talk about the lies Maddy tells and the lie her mother tells.
Families who enjoy this movie may also enjoy Spy Kids and Agent Cody Banks. They are not only more fun to watch, but the kids are on the side of the good guys!
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
