Movies for 12 Year Old Girl Bday Party?

[luvmy3]

We are pretty liberal with what we let our kids watch, but here are some things I have watched with my kids that (I think) are appropriate for that age group.
Hairspray
17 Again ( the mom got pregnant in HS so some may object)
Mama Mia
Zookeeper
Maid In Manhattan
The Last Song
Ella Enchanted
Princess Diaries
Freaky Friday
Furry Vengence
Diary of A Wimpy Kid (1 & 2)
Bruce Almighty
Evan Almighty

 

[happygirl]

I would go with Soul Surfer, great message.

 

[emer95]

I would err on the side of age-appropriate when you have other peoples' kids. PG-13 can be perfectly fine, or it can be practically rated R. I was pretty upset when my 12 year old came home from a sleepover and they had watched "Just Go With It" (I think that's what it's called) with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. I had seen that movie- lots of sex and sexual references. I am a conservative parent... my kids haven't seen Twilight or any of those movies.

I was also upset when my NINE and TEN year olds came home from a sleepover and the mom wanted to show "Seventeen Again" Seriously?!?! She didn't show it because my girls nervously told her they weren't allowed to watch PG-13, but all the other girls at the party made them feel badly. I watched that movie- NOT appropriate for 9 and 10 year olds. Or even 13 year olds, in my opinion.

You've gotten great suggestions. My kids loved Soul Surfer and Dolphin Tale. Animal movies are popular with this age. I think it is wonderful that you care enough to ask and make sure you're showing something appropriate.

 

[diz8297]

I would go with Soul Surfer too. Great message in it. Err on the side of caution!!

 

[diz8297]

And having said my prior post....I go with Grease too. It came out when I was, um, slightly under 12 and I didn't "get" a lot of it back then!

 

[Wendy31]

Okay, I take back "10 Things I Hate About You".

I just went to imdb.com, & it's rated PG-13 for "...sex-related humor and dialogue, alcohol and drug-related scenes, all involving teens". Sorry! But, honestly, I don't remember any of that! It's a cute movie, & I love the poem that Julie Stiles' character writes & recites in English class. Again, I haven't seen it in a while (& the kids have never seen it), so I didn't remember all that! LOL!

What about "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"? It's such a great teenage classic!! (But does have a little language...)

And, if they haven't seen "Back to the Future", that's a good one too!

 

[cornflake]

Her character is 20, not 40, in Mamma Mia.

My now 12 and 10 year olds have seen that movie so many times. We love it (except for Pierce Brosnan's singing). But, at DD's 12th slumber party, the girls all opted to watch Jaws.

Streep and the men are clearly supposed to have been fooling around back in the days of the original hippies, however. Based on everything said and shown, Seyfried should be 40. It's the oddest thing about that movie, imo.

I think Jaws would be awesome - they probably mostly haven't seen it. I loved horror movies at that age. For my 12th birthday, I went to a midnight screening of a slasher pic. T'was awesome.

My friends and I loved horror movies/slasher films, we'd rent those and have a like Friday the 13th/Halloween/small horror film/zombie movie fest.

 

[IDoDis]

What about some of the older ones that 12 year olds loved a few years ago and maybe the 12 year olds of today haven't seen -- like High School Musical or the Lizzie McGuire Movie Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Freaky Friday, or RV (Robin Williams)?

Mean Girls is a good movie. So is Mean Girls 2. It's got a good message, despite the movie title.

 

[mdsoccermom]

Streep and the men are clearly supposed to have been fooling around back in the days of the original hippies, however. Based on everything said and shown, Seyfried should be 40. It's the oddest thing about that movie, imo.

I think Jaws would be awesome - they probably mostly haven't seen it. I loved horror movies at that age. For my 12th birthday, I went to a midnight screening of a slasher pic. T'was awesome.

My friends and I loved horror movies/slasher films, we'd rent those and have a like Friday the 13th/Halloween/small horror film/zombie movie fest.

Yeah, my daughter and her friends adore horror movies. The scarier, the better. I'm supposed to take them to see Woman in Black next week.

 

[SueM in MN]

Streep and the men are clearly supposed to have been fooling around back in the days of the original hippies, however. Based on everything said and shown, Seyfried should be 40. It's the oddest thing about that movie, imo.

I think Jaws would be awesome - they probably mostly haven't seen it. I loved horror movies at that age. For my 12th birthday, I went to a midnight screening of a slasher pic. T'was awesome.

My friends and I loved horror movies/slasher films, we'd rent those and have a like Friday the 13th/Halloween/small horror film/zombie movie fest.

it's not supposed to take place now. It's retro and takes place 20 years after Meryl Streep's character and friends were hippies.
ABBA was most popular in 1976 - 1982, so that's when the parents did "dot dot dot " and the musical takes place 20 years after that. It was first performed in 1999 and the movie was made in 2008.

There are many references to Seyfried's character being 20.

 

[leebee]

I'd be careful with Back to the Future. I remember watching it with DD when she was maybe 15. I had forgotten that there's quite a bit of language near the beginning, when they meet up with the Iranians (was it Iranians?) in the parking lot. I was pretty uncomfortable watching this with her (yes, although politically liberal, we were very conservative in how we raised DD regarding things like movies, TV, etc. My sister lets her 10 year old watch Two and a Half Men, Tosh.0, etc... that SO wouldn't have happened at my house!)

 

[SueM in MN]

I'd be careful with Back to the Future. I remember watching it with DD when she was maybe 15. I had forgotten that there's quite a bit of language near the beginning, when they meet up with the Iranians (was it Iranians?) in the parking lot. I was pretty uncomfortable watching this with her (yes, although politically liberal, we were very conservative in how we raised DD regarding things like movies, TV, etc. My sister lets her 10 year old watch Two and a Half Men, Tosh.0, etc... that SO wouldn't have happened at my house!)

I forgot about that in Back to the Future. You spend a good part of the movie not knowing if Doc died when he got shot.

 

[aprilgail2]

Yeah, my daughter and her friends adore horror movies. The scarier, the better. I'm supposed to take them to see Woman in Black next week.

My daughter is going to see that with her friends- I have no desire to see it!

 

[englishteacha]

I'd go with Princess Bride. I've shown it at school and my students liked it. They wondered why they hadn't seen it before! (obviously their parents were not kids of the '80s like I was!) I also like EverAfter. Also a good movie.

 

[rockawaybeachgirl]

I forgot about that in Back to the Future. You spend a good part of the movie not knowing if Doc died when he got shot.

I guess I don't see why it's a problem not knowing if he died (which, really, I think most people expect things will turn out ok somehow). These are 12 year olds, not 6 year olds. It's part of the suspense. Would you let a 12 year old watch 'The Champ'? great, 'wholesome' movie, but he gets beaten to death at the end....

Maybe I'm biased, but I saw BTTF in the theatres when it came out, and I was 11. I let my 8 year old watch all of the trilogy. So, I definitiely think it's age appropriate for 12 year olds!

 

[SueM in MN]

I guess I don't see why it's a problem not knowing if he died (which, really, I think most people expect things will turn out ok somehow). These are 12 year olds, not 6 year olds. It's part of the suspense. Would you let a 12 year old watch 'The Champ'? great, 'wholesome' movie, but he gets beaten to death at the end....

Maybe I'm biased, but I saw BTTF in the theatres when it came out, and I was 11. I let my 8 year old watch all of the trilogy. So, I definitiely think it's age appropriate for 12 year olds!

I didn't say it was a Problem - just that I had forgotten about it.

 

[luvmy3]

I guess I don't see why it's a problem not knowing if he died (which, really, I think most people expect things will turn out ok somehow). These are 12 year olds, not 6 year olds. It's part of the suspense. Would you let a 12 year old watch 'The Champ'? great, 'wholesome' movie, but he gets beaten to death at the end....

Maybe I'm biased, but I saw BTTF in the theatres when it came out, and I was 11. I let my 8 year old watch all of the trilogy. So, I definitiely think it's age appropriate for 12 year olds!

BTTF is one of my 8 year old's favorite movies. I can't imagine being uncomfortable watching that with a 15 year old. Of course if I named some of the movies I've watched with my newly turned 14 year old dd, some here may have a heart attack

OP, since this thread shows that different parents approve of different things for that age group, I'd go with something rated PG just to be safe.

 

[SueM in MN]

Back to the Future is just PG

Some other PG films:
Beetlejuice

Willow

Splash

Aquamarine

A walk to Remember

PG 13
Blast from the Past

The Mummy


Josie and the Pussycats

 

[charming23]

How about "Now and Then"? I LOVED that movie when I was that age and I think it is a good movie to bond over.

That was my favorite movie as well. It was just such a good movie about friendship.

My cousin is 12 and she likes "Hairspray" and The High School Musicals.

 

[castmember19]

She's the Man! I love that movie. It's with Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum (along with a handful of others) and it's a modern, teen take on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

It's basically a teen comedy featuring a love pentagon and a bit of soccer. I'd say it's directed at the same age group as Mean Girls but without all the "nastiness." It's hilarious.