Is Rosaline Safe for Kids? Is Roseline OK for children? Read the Rosaline Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, an honest parents guide to 20th Century Studios new original Romeo and Juliet inspired romantic comedy film starring Kaitlyn Dever, streaming exclusively on Hulu. No spoilers! #Rosaline May contain commissioned links.
Rosaline Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide
O Rosaline, Rosaline – wherefore art thou Rosaline? Wait a minute! Who is Rosaline?
Move over, Juliet. Apparently Juliet’s cousin is taking center balcony in this Romeo and Juliet inspired romantic comedy. But is Hulu’s Rosaline leaving us feeling hopelessly in love…or biting our thumbs?
In this Rosaline Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, I’m breaking down the visuals, the story, a full PG-13 age rating explanation for violence, adult themes and language, and what kids’ age recommendation is suggested to watch the new Rosaline parents guide to the new 20th Century Studios and Hulu film. A no-spoiler parent review of Rosaline, is this Romeo and Juliet inspired romantic comedy even worth a watch? Or should we stick to Leo and Claire’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet?
The Visuals
Visually, don’t expect to be astounded watching Rosaline. This Hulu rom-com doesn’t exactly need all of the CGI packed action sequences or over-the-top technological features to be appealing. Overall a low budget 20th Century Studios film, this live action Hulu original film has period costuming, elaborate scenes and acceptable visuals. Nothing earth shattering or award winning.
Photosensitivity Warning. No photosensitivity visual effects in Rosaline for those with potential seizure or eye/light issues. A few scenes are in darkness.
The Story
In this comedic retelling of the classic Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet story, Kaitlyn Dever (“Last Man Standing“) takes center stage as Rosaline in this self-titled movie. Rosaline co-stars Kyle Allen (2021 “West Side Story“) as Romeo, Isabela Merced (“Dora and the Lost City of Gold“) as Juliet, and Sean Teale (“Reign“) as Dario, along with some surprising cameos to round out this period production. Directed Karen Maine (“Obvious Child“) based on the screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and the book “When You Were Mine” by Rebecca Serle, this familiar plot takes a different turn as love, family, and exes all get involved.
It’s all in the family, the extended family that is. Juliet’s cousin and Romeo’s ex are one in the same in this Romeo and Juliet inspired romantic comedy film. And the plot takes a turn for the pop culture laughs in this A Knight’s Tale meets “dirty” Princess Bride period production.
Combining modern day phrases, tropes (like female empowerment, racial diversity and LGBTQ+ inclusion), and even catchy pop songs, Rosaline shakes off the serious Shakespeare poetry in favor of gaining popularity with the younger generations. With loose life lessons in trust, honesty, love (duh!), family and forgiveness, you can probably guess where this plot line is heading. But this modern rom-com has a twist, and is taking liberties in more than just the story arena.
Rosaline PG-13 Rating Explained
Is Rosaline safe for kids? It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to preview a romantic comedy movie. And I’ve got admit, times have definitely changed when it comes to highlighting two people falling in love. With a PG-13 rating and direct to Hulu streaming greenlight, I also have to admit that I was pretty hesitant to see if this rom-com was heading into the adult theme direction.
With PG-13 ratings unpredictable these days (yeah, I’m talking to you – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and more movie production companies pushing the envelope when it comes to language, adult themes and violence, is Rosaline a family friendly movie?
Why is Rosaline rated PG-13? In this Rosaline Movie Review | Safe for Kids, this Hulu original film has a MPAA age rating of PG-13 for “some suggestive material and brief strong language.” Is Rosaline for kids? Or is this romantic comedy a little too steamy for children to watch? Let’s breakdown that PG-13 age rating in this Rosaline parents guide.
Violence. Minor. I’m talking Princess Bride kind of slapstick fighting with swords type of violence. No blood, no gore. Mild fist fighting. Portrayed death.
Adult Themes. For a period rom-com, adult themes run rampant. Drinking alcohol, acting somewhat tipsy, going to a “dive bar,” open flirting and mild inferred toilet humor are just the tip of the adult content in Rosaline.
As far as the suggestive material goes, “some” goes a long way in Rosaline. Think slapstick Robin Hood: Men in Tights meets Shrek. While some of the sexual innuendo content may go over kids’ heads, there’s definitely enough suggestive moments to make parents and children a little more than uncomfortable too.
There are spoken references to “sneaking around,” referring to a person as “tasty,” hidden meaning behind a men’s “swords,” a person reading a book with the word “erotic” on the cover, inference to a man’s sexuality, implied relations between two consenting adults for a laugh, as well as visuals of a shirtless man and a few deep kisses. Thankfully, no steamy sex scenes or nudity.
Language. This fiery redhead doesn’t hold back when it comes to “brief strong language.” I have to say that I was shocked at the sheer amount of bad language phrases and swear words used in this Hulu film. First of all, I think this is my first “f*cking” profanity in a PG-13 film. I wish you were there for the jaw drop. Other swear words include 6 uses of “sh!t,” 1 “b!tch,” 2 “@ss” (1 in another language, but definitely comes up in the closed caption), 4 “h-e-double-hockey-sticks,” 1 “crap,” 2 uses of “bloody,” and 1 “son of a —” (phrase cut off).
Other potentially offensive phrases and insults include over 15 counts of “oh g-d,” “Chr!st,” “blow me,” “shut it,” multiple uses of “idiot,” “fool,” and “stupid.” The f-word and the multiple uses of the Lord’s name in vain struck me in this film, as the swear words seemed pretty excessive and unnecessary for a labeled rom-com.
Rosaline Age Rating for Kids
Rosaline has a runtime of 1 hour 36 minutes. which is actually pretty short for PG-13 rated romantic comedy movies today. Feeling like a lower budget rom-com production, this direct to streaming Hulu original film definitely has a feel for a more kid friendly rom-com. However, with lots of heavy dialogue, strong language, romance, jealousy, drama, and not enough action, this movie is definitely geared towards an older, more mature audience.
This Hulu original film has a MPAA age rating of PG-13 for “some suggestive material and brief strong language.”
No, this Hulu original movie does not have any end credit scenes to wait for. Go ahead and fast forward to your next movie.
Considering the full PG-13 rating breakdown above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend Hulu’s Rosaline movie to kids younger than the age of 11-12 years old. I still recommend parents to prescreen the new Rosaline film for questionable adult themes, especially for spoken sexual innuendo and copious amounts of profanity (more than I’m used to for a PG-13 rated film).
Based on my Rosaline parents guide and mom review, your child’s sensitivity to profanity and bad language, and the potential “reading between the lines” suggestive material for a cheap laugh would be my biggest concerns to consider before watching this film. Romantic comedy films are not normally geared towards young kids. And Rosaline is no different.
This parent movie reviewer would not recommend Hulu’s Rosaline movie to kids younger than the age of 11-12 years old. I still recommend parents to prescreen the new Rosaline film for questionable adult themes, especially for spoken sexual innuendo and copious amounts of profanity (more than I’m used to for a PG-13 rated film).
However with limited violence and only kissing visuals, this rom-com may appeal parents with older teens. But for my 14-year old son, he’s definitely not at the maturity level to even want to watch a romantic comedy, or say the word love *gasp* aloud.
The Overall
It’s a little hard to feel the love when you’re dropping an f-bomb. Unfortunately, the profanities and language alone were enough to bite my thumb when it comes to family-friendliness. But swear words aside, I actually enjoyed the light, easy-to-digest love story. But I’ll be watching after my kids go to bed.
Rosaline has the potential to be a fun rom-com twist on the familiar Romeo and Juliet story with lots of pop culture references and laughs to appeal to younger teens and tweens of today. Even though I wasn’t completely sold on Rosaline’s exasperated, desperate and sometimes whiny character for the cameos alone, I was entertained.
Follow Rosaline on social media:
- Website: https://www.hulu.com/movie/rosaline-55d7da0c-c7bb-4d10-9d2a-1cb5d2d25ae4
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hulu
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hulu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hulu/
- #Rosaline
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Rosaline, the all-new 20th Century Studios original film based on Romeo and Juliet premieres exclusively on Hulu starting Friday October 14, 2022. Will your family be watching?
I was invited to screen Rosaline movie in exchange for this Rosaline Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide. All photos courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Hulu. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more movie updates, celebrity interviews, entertainment and behind-the-scenes info!
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