Video/DVD Review: Sleepover
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie is filled with the kind
of parental concerns that aren't factored into the MPAA's
rating system. The main characters -- young teenage girls --
sneak out of the house after promising not to. They make a date
with a man they met on the Internet with the plan of getting
him to buy one of them a drink. They then sneak into a club and
drink alcohol. One girl secretly watches a boy undress (from
the rear, nudity off screen). They vandalize property, imprison
a security guard, drive without licenses, make an overweight
girl feel bad about herself. Many characters lie, including
adults. One of the girls loses a boyfriend by refusing to "hook
up" with him but apparently brags to her friends that she did.
There is also some bathroom humor and intrusive product
placement.
SLEEPOVER is the story of Julie (Alexa Vega of Spy Kids) and three friends who participate in a scavenger hunt with a significant prize -- the favored "power" lunch spot for the whole school year. To win, Julie and her friends have to get a man they meet on the Internet to buy them a drink, put their clothes on the mannequins in the Old Navy store window, and steal a security guard's car decal and the boxers of the boy of Julie's dreams. They promise not to leave the house but sneak out anyway. At the club, it turns out that the Internet mystery date is none other than the girls' nerdy teacher. Once that gets sorted out, they continue their quest. They climb on a roof, run away from a security guard and lock him up, hide in a shower stall while a boy takes off all his clothes and then steal his boxers, and drive without permission or a license. Bottom line? They cause a lot of damage for which they take no responsibility.
Sleepover is supposed to be a touching, lighthearted PG comedy, but these 14-year-old girls violate every rule they agreed to. While the movie pits the nice girls against the mean girls, by the end of the movie it's frankly hard to tell them apart. They lie, cheat, vandalize, steal, sneak out of the house and into a bar, order a drink with a man they met on the Internet, and sneak into a high school dance by telling the girl taking tickets she has to let them in so they don't turn into a lonely loser like her.
Vega and the other girls are appealing performers, especially Mika Boorem as Julie's best friend and Sara Paxton as snooty Mean Girl Stacie. The "why can't you understand I'm growing up" and "how can I survive if my best friend moves away?" themes will ring familiar with the intended audience, but the movie's irresponsible portrayal of extremely risky and destructive behavior and its distorted notion of girl power make it very iffy for tweens and eevn young teens.
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