Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

You Again

also known as “Du schon wieder”
MPA Rating: PG-Rating (MPA) for brief mild language and rude behavior.

Reviewed by: Patty Moliterno
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Teens Adults
Genre: Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 45 min.
Year of Release: 2010
USA Release: September 24, 2010 (wide—2,300+ theaters)
DVD: February 8, 2011
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Relevant Issues
Copyright, Touchstone Pictures

Marriage in the Bible

Why get married? Answer

Featuring Kristen Bell (Marni
Odette Yustman (Joanna)
Sigourney Weaver (Aunt Ramona
Betty White (Grandma Bunny)
Kristin Chenoweth (Monique Leroux)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Gail)
Cloris Leachman (Helen)
Christine Lakin (Taylor),
Victor Garber (Mark)
Patrick Duffy (Ritchie Phillips)
See all »
Director Andy Fickman
Producer Oops Doughnuts Productions, Touchstone Pictures, See all »
Distributor
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures (a division of Disney). Trademark logo.
Touchstone Pictures
, a division of Walt Disney Studios

“What doesn’t kill you… is going to marry your brother.”

Marni Olsen (played by Kristen Bell) is a successful advertising executive. She is cute, witty and exudes confidence. One would never suspect that underneath that surface is a wounded, shy awkward teenager. At the beginning of the movie, the viewer is led to believe that she has overcome all those feelings and is a better person today. When Marni flies home for her brother Will’s (James Wolk) wedding, we begin to see that teenager all over again. Will is marrying Joanna (Odette Yustman), a sweet, caring nurse and a compassionate volunteer. Joanna (known as JJ in high school) was the girl responsible for tormenting Marni daily. Joanna was head cheerleader; she was smart, funny and liked by everyone.

Joanna is still liked by everyone; Marni’s mom and dad, Gail and Mark (played by Jamie Lee Curtis and Victor Garber), have taken Joanna into their home and already treat her like family. Even Marni’s dog loves Joanna. To add insult to injury, Joanna doesn’t even seem to remember Marni—or does she? When Joanna’s aunt, Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) arrives, the plot is further complicated. Ramona and Gail were friends in high school until something happened which caused them to never talk again.

The language and situations in this film are exceedingly tame. I was surprised how little objectionable content was in this film. There are a few dance scenes where some suggestive moves are made. There are, also, some low cut dresses showing cleavage. Marni’s grandmother Bunny (played by Betty White) makes several sexual comments to men of all ages. Several scenes show people with alcoholic drinks.

There is minor violence—Marni and Joanna get in a fight and throw plates at each other. Ramona and Gail fight and through each other in a pool. A tree house falls apart and injures people. There are several other “slapstick” type scenes.

A reference is made to a “fertility” dance. Mark is using a mind-body connection to lose weight. The term “satan’s spawn” is used. Marni bribes her younger brother Ben to help her in her plot to expose Joanna.

There were several positive aspects of this movie. Gail and Mark are a traditional married couple. Gail is happy being a wife and mother. I never felt like Hollywood was trying to shove an agenda down my throat. In this movie, we see true forgiveness. It, also, shows that people can and do change. We can move past the hurt and experience reconciliation. Gail tells Marni, “Everyone deserves a second chance”.

Watching this movie, I thought how sad it is to try to live in a world without Jesus. Luke 6:28 says “bless those that curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Raising children in a Christian home means talking about how we are to treat one another. If we talk to our kids about the bullies and about the kids who are the victims, we can encourage Christ-like behavior. Marni felt all alone. We can teach our children to reach out to the Marni’s in the world. If our kids are the Marni’s, we can support and encourage them to pray for their enemies.

While this movie has some good qualities, it has little entertainment value and becomes horribly predictable. While you might expect a lot from this movie, with a cast of well knowns, you may be expecting too much. There are few laughs. While not a horrible movie, it does seem to be lackluster. My recommendation is to wait for it to come out on DVD.

Violence: Mild / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—While I have no disagreement with the reviewer in terms of moral aspects of the movie, I found it quite appealing and entertaining.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Jeremy Klein, age 55 (USA)
Positive—Although the story was a bit dry and the acting a little under-rated, I appreciated this squeaky clean chic-flick. Definitely not one for the guys, they would be bored to tears. But the ladies, especially the younger ones may appreciate the film. There is redemption, forgiveness, and a real focus on family.

I don’t recall any bad language, nor were there any sex or even sensual themes. There is one brief dance number which is more silly than anything else. Overall, I’m ashamed to admit that I liked it! Enjoy!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Diana O, age 41 (USA)
Positive—Just saw this movie with my husband, 21 yr. old daughter and 12 year old son. and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. What a tough thing it is to find a movie that is appropriate for the 12 year old, yet enjoyable for older daughter and hubby, and this one made the grade with us! It may not be Academy Award worthy, however many of those aren’t in my top ten favorite movies ever anyway! “You Again” was squeaky clean (no swearing, no sex, no nudity, no innuendos), funny and heartwarming, with a good moral lesson and good values. These movies are few and far between these days. A great family film with something for everyone!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
LJ, age 48 (Canada)
Positive—I love, love love this movie. It is so cute, funny and clean. It’s the classic “girls night out” movie. I can’t remember anything that I thought was offensive.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Darlene, age 62 (USA)
Positive—Just watched this movie with the wife. We saw the trailer several weeks back and put it on our list to watch. We were happily surprised at the quality of the content of this movie, especially with some of the actors involved. We did not hear any curse words and there were no sex scenes, which was great!. There were a couple of scenes that a “legalist” would find objectionable, but then again most “legalists” would find pants on a woman to be offensive, in my opinion. My wife made a very valid point, this movie was far cleaner than a good majority of the 2011 Superbowl commercials! Overall, we recommend this movie for the whole family, especially if they get the message and humor in it!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Bill R, age 39 (USA)
Positive—This was a fun, silly movie. Good for moms and daughters.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Rachel Jade, age 18 (USA)
Positive—I thought this movie was hilarious. Although, there were sad points in which it was clear that these people were not raised in a Christian home, I think this movie reveals some of the realities that happen in American schools today—-severe bullying. Although the movie is predictable, I was impressed that there were no sex scenes and no vulgar language, and I laughed throughout the entire thing! This would be a good mother-daughter film to provoke some good conversation afterward for high school aged girls!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Jennifer, age 21 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—Fairly boring and tame movie, with a surprisingly sweet message at the end. The acting is not too good, despite some well known actors who have done good work in the past, or maybe the screenplay and direction were not good. However, the storyline took a nice twist at the end, and this is a movie about forgiving and loving and not holding grudges, and was free of profanity and sexual immorality. There were a few good laughs. I wish it could have been more memorable.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Halyna Barannik, age 64 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—I really liked this movie. I felt I could personally relate to Marni’s predicament, becuase I too have been a victim of bullying, and that person is now trying to be very friendly to me and act like nothing happened. I, personally got a very good message about the lesson of forgiveness from this film and have slowly started getting rid of my grudge against her.

I think that people who tend to hold grudges against their enemies should see this film, and I believe it will help them to know that instead of choosing to exact revenge, they should choose forgiveness :3

I also enjoyed Betty White’s role, who I thought made the film more funny, and, also, the character Tim, who sang solo at the reception made me burst into laughter. Great film, didn’t hear a single curse word, so all in all, Great family film. …
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Hanna Peters, age 14 (USA)
Positive—I thought this was a refreshingly clean movie that showed the importance of telling the truth. They way the family was shown was also refreshing, the father being the head of the house, the mother proud of being “just” a mother and the kids getting along pretty well. All in all, I would say this was a nice movie to sit and veg out to. No brain teaser or nail biter, just a clean family fun film the whole household can enjoy.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Sara, age 17 (USA)
Movie Critics
…“You Again” is not groundbreaking art, perhaps. But it is surprisingly funny and startlingly sweet. And I say that as a movie lover, a movie critic and a curse-counting curmudgeon. If this film had been made when I was a kid 30 or 35 years ago, it would have probably earned a G rating—right alongside the likes of “Freaky Friday” and “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.”
Paul Asay, Plugged In
…“You Again” is a chick flick with a bit of a different recipe. Although its main ingredient is still fluff, the story also has dashes of scenes that are interesting, poignant, relatable and funny. …
Sue Pierman, Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
…“You Again” is a frothy end-of-summer treat, a family comedy about school bullies, second chances, grudges and growing up. … In the end, the film leaves you in a dance-happy mood. …
Lana Berkowitz, Hearst Newspapers
…Bland and safe, “You Again” is like a slice of underbaked pizza from the snack bar at a football game or movie theater. It’s edible and temporarily may satisfy your hunger but it’s certainly not memorable. …
Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
…This is one of those stories where all of the major characters behave boorishly at one point or another, with the result that we end up rooting for none of them. …[1.5 stars]
Chris Knight, National Post
… The movie is so laboriously contrived in every atom of its being that the only interest is in seeing if the characters can avoid the destinies decreed for them by ancient formulas. No luck. … [2 stars]
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times