Is Netflix’s The Sleepover Safe For Kids? Parent Movie Review
THE SLEEPOVER PARENT REVIEW
What happens when your kids discover your past isn’t as boring as they once thought? Hijinks and high speed chases happen, of course. Throw in some poop humor, a generous amount of puke, a mini-dad loving Dad and a sassy sidekick and you have the makings of an entertaining movie for the family. Even if it is predictible. But is Netflix’s new family movie The Sleepover safe for kids? This parent movie review helps you know what ages can watch The Sleepover and just how kid-friendly this TV-PG movie really is.
Table of Contents
About The Sleepover
In this family adventure-comedy, Clancy (Sadie Stanley) and her kid brother Kevin (Maxwell Simkins) discover that their seemingly normal stay-at-home mom Margot (Malin Åkerman) is actually a former high-end thief in the witness protection program.
When both their mom and dad (Ken Marino) are kidnapped and forced to pull one last job with an ex-flame of Margot’s (Joe Manganiello), the siblings must team up to rescue their parents over the course of one action-packed night that they’ll never forget.
THE SLEEPOVER is directed by Trish Sie (Pitch Perfect 3).
Rating: TV-PG
The Sleepover Review (2020)
I tell my kids every day: nothing you do is private these days because cellphones and the internet exists.
You know how it goes, parents: we’re constantly reminding them to conduct themselves accordingly lest they might end up the next viral sensation for doing something just dumb enough to be called entertainment.
In The Sleepover, teens Kevin and Clancy’s parents take it a step further by not allowing their kids to even have cell phone access.
Harsh, considering just about everyone over the 4th grade seems to have a device these days.
The reason soon becomes clear in the “aha” moment of the film: Kevin goes viral for dancing like nobody’s watching (spoiler: they were and they live-streamed it!).
That video sets off a chain of events that included the family dog being drugged, the parents being kidnapped, and the kids going after them.
Mom, it turns out, is not just the boring but strict lunchtime volunteer: she’s also a talented thief and bad-A who’s secret life has just been exposed.
Is The Sleepover Safe for Kids?
This is one of those formulaic movies taking a little of this and a little of that from previous films (True Lies and maybe a little National Treasure) and making a new version out of it.
The pacing is fast enough to keep your family mostly entertained and wondering where we’re going next, but not so fast that you get lost in the action.
Something For Everyone In The Sleepover
While the adults have some great quotes in The Sleepover (Ken Marino, as usual, steals his scenes) it is the kids that shine in this movie.
And in the end, they were ultimately underused.
Yes- as much fun as it was to watch Joe Manganiello bust Marion’s chops, I wanted to have more development and time spent on the children.
It might have been a stronger story if a little more focus had been given to the teens changing as the night progresses because they had the biggest shifts of character overall.
The Sleepover tried to do it subtly and that’s appreciated, but the caliber of teen actors meant it could have been a better film if they had allowed them to grow a bit further on-screen.
Instead of just a popcorn fun family flick, this movie had the potential to be a little deeper than that.
It tried, I’ll give it that.
Overprotective parents beware: The Sleepover comes for us with some gentle reminders that we don’t need to circle around *that* closely all the time.
Even with its hybrid formula trying for something new, the film ends up being both predictable but enjoyable at the same time.
Parents will find humor in what the couple did not know about this spouse, (yes, it’s still fun to discover new things about your partner, kids!).
And kids will be there for the action and the potty humor that gives them just enough for belly laughs without being gross.
Well, without being *too* gross, anyway.
The Sleepover is family-friendly and ok for kids for the most part, which is a welcome relief for families working to find something everyone can watch together.
This was one of the favorite movies we’ve watched as a family this summer, keeping kids ages 9 to 17 entertained well enough for a family movie night.
Is The Sleepover Safe For Kids? Parent Movie Review
Is The Sleepover ok for kids?
What ages can watch The Sleepover on Netflix?
And most importantly: you mentioned a dog and drugging. Does the dog die in this movie?
Small spoiler: no, the dog is totally fine!
Here’s a breakdown of the appropriateness of The Sleepover when it comes to allowing your kids to watch it.
Language Concerns In The Sleepover
There’s very little by way of curse words to worry about in The Sleepover, but that doesn’t mean language is completely clean.
In fact, it’s pretty dirty: poop humor abounds in this one. And a booger makes a breakthrough in the plot happen.
You’ll have words like crap, loser, geek, and turd bantered about in this one.
If that’s not your thing, consider pre-viewing this one. Just to make sure you won’t regret letting your kids watch it later.
Bullying is also noted during this movie. Kevin- by way of his viral dance video- is shamed. Clancy- by way of being a band geek- is also called names and made to feel less sure about her place in the school society.
The Sleepover 2020: Sexual Content
This movie does have teens in it, and of course, those teens are interested in the opposite sex. But there’s little time in this film for any hooking up to occur: they gotta save mom and dad!
One character’s big moment: a boob touches his back. His friend remarks that it has to mean “first base.”
Kids close your eyes: parents kiss in this one!
Action and Violence in The Sleepover
Kids used to slick action sequences and hard-punching fight scenes will not be shocked by this movie.
In fact, we thought the action sequences were on the lame side of things in an otherwise enjoyable movie.
It is at its heart a spy movie involving a quest. This means there will be some dangerous situations that the children and their parents have to get through.
The action includes weapons (guns, knives), one-on-one fight scenes, an intense car chase, and other perilous situations for kids and adults.
The heroes end up on top making The Sleepover fairly appropriate for most kids over the age of 7.
The Sleepover is a fun, family-friendly flick for movie night. Queue it up and get the popcorn ready for the whole gang.
Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
