Video/DVD Review: Little Man Tate
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie might have a child as
the lead character, but it deals with mature themes. A single
mom tells her son he had no father, that he was a miracle. A
young boy's isolation and anxiety might distress sensitive
audiences, while his social exclusion at school will resonate
with those who have experienced the difficulties of fitting-in.
A college student takes a young boy to a pool-hall where people
are drinking and smoking, and later is seen semi-naked in bed
with a young woman. There are scenes of social anxiety,
including a television appearance and a party, and multiple
references to the stress-induced ulcers suffered by a child.
There are three accidents involving children, all of which
result in adult/medical attention. A character smokes and
drinks in private. Several scenes have name-calling and
profanity.
Families can talk about how the relationship between Fred and
Dede changes over the movie: What makes the characters lose or
gain confidence? Fred is portrayed as a very rare sort of
genius, one who excels at everything he touches but who also
feels things very deeply. How does he relate to other kids? The
character of the "mathemagician" says that without Jane and the
academic approval she brings, he would just be "another creep
in a cape." How does he differ from Fred? Parents might wish to
discuss the broader theme of accepting people different from
themselves.
Seven-year-old Fred (played hauntingly well by Adam Hann-Byrd) is a budding young math/science/music genius and a sensitive soul writing poetry about his loneliness. His mother, Dede (Jodie Foster), is a hard-working waitress who wants to give him a normal life but realizes that his intelligence demands special treatment -- from school and from her. Fred is barely surviving public school, where kids never pick him for the kickball team and he amuses himself by playing mind games on the perplexed teacher. When Jane (Dianne Wiest), the head of a school for the gifted, reaches out to Fred to join in two special summer programs, Dede is torn between feeding Fred's intellect and wanting to shelter him from the world. Despite his intellectual gifts, Fred is clearly a little boy who needs his mom, who wants very much to have friends and who strives to be accepted.
LITTLE MAN TATE, Jodie Foster's directorial debut, is as empathetic as its main character, if not as brilliant. Some of the characters, though well-acted, are written as broad stereotypes. For example, good-time Eddy breaks his promises, successful Jane cannot cook, dance-loving Dede dislikes seeing her son buried in a book, and Fred is brilliant at everything (not just numbers or art). Kids will enjoy the maturity with which the characters are treated; this is not a movie that talks down to its audience.
Searching for Bobby FischerHome for the Holidays
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
Join Us