Parents' Guide to

Let It Shine

Movie NR 2012 104 minutes
Let It Shine Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Emily Ashby By Emily Ashby , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 7+

Rousing rap-style musical has family-friendly themes.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 7+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 9+

Based on 7 parent reviews

age 6+

Meh

I don’t really like movies like this. Romance movies just aren’t my cup of tea. This movie did have a good story and music. This movie is completely family friendly and would make a good family movie... I wouldn’t watch this movie again. I would listen to the music again though. I watched it a lot when I was a kid. This movie is slow. They definitely could have cut out some of the parts that were irrelevant. 5/10 — What’s in the movie? Violence - A brief scuffle between teens during an argument, and a girl slaps a guy when she realizes he lied to her. Flirting/Kissing - Two teens vie for a beautiful girl's attention, but there's nothing physical about the flirtatious exchanges. Occasionally it's said that someone looks "hot."
age 13+

A horrible movie

It was super bad. I just cannot explain how bad it was.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (22 ):

With strong, pro-social messages and trademark Disney content, this melodic movie is a great choice for families. Be forewarned, however, that that other Disney trademark -- turning music-centered movies into big profits on soundtracks and other merchandising -- is sure to be an issue here, thanks to a camera-friendly cast of established TV personalities. But ultimately that may be a small price to pay for a quality movie the whole family can enjoy.

Disney draws on the talents of experienced TV stars to pull off this non-traditional reworking of Cyrano's tale. Mixing rap, gospel, and hip-hop music and a predominantly African-American cast, Let It Shine honors ethnic and artistic diversity and even works in some evangelical messages from Cyrus' minister dad (Courtney B. Vance). What's more, the story manages to give most of the characters the opportunity to change in ways that show them working through their insecurities and embracing the qualities that make them unique.

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