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"TUCK EVERLASTING" (2002) (Alexis Bledel, Jonathan Jackson) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor None Heavy *Moderate Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor Minor Heavy None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild None Moderate Moderate Heavy QUICK TAKE: Drama: A teenager tries to break free from her rigidly proper social training and gets the chance when she meets a mysterious family that claims they never age and can't die. PLOT: It's 1914 and Winnie Foster (ALEXIS BLEDEL) is a 15-year-old who feels smothered by her proper, upper class upbringing imposed upon her by her conservative and wealthy parents Augusta (AMY IRVING) and Robert (VICTOR GARBER). She longs for a life outside her fenced-in estate, and thus decides to run away when she learns that she's to be sent off to a strict, all-girls school. She ends up getting lost in her family's large and heavily wooded lands and then runs into fellow teenager Jesse Tuck (JONATHAN JACKSON) who's drinking from a spring at the base of an old tree. She's surprised by his presence and he's not happy she spotted him. Before either can do anything, however, Jesse's older and stern brother, Miles (SCOTT BAIRSTOW), shows up, grabs her and returns to the family's cabin home. There, she meets the boys' parents, Angus (WILLIAM HURT) and Mae (SISSY SPACEK), and eventually learns that the spring from which Jesse was drinking has caused the entire family to be immortal and permanently stuck at the age from their first drink. It's also led to the mysterious Man in the yellow suit (BEN KINGSLEY) who's trailed the brothers back to their home environs. As he attempts to find them and their source of immortality, and Winnie's parents call out the forces to find her, the teen must decide whether to join the Tucks as they try to maintain their secrecy and unique lifestyle. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the novel or anyone in the film, they might, but this might seem too grown-up for little ones and too blasé for older teens. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For some violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ALEXIS BLEDEL plays a 15-year-old who's fed up with the stuffy confines of her proper upbringing and thus runs away and is then attracted to the Tuck's more laidback lifestyle. JONATHAN JACKSON plays the youngest Tuck who falls for Winnie and wants her to join them in their state of immortality. SCOTT BAIRSTOW plays his older brother who's fought in several wars and is bitter toward most everyone and about everything due to losing his wife and child because of his immortality curse. WILLIAM HURT & SISSY SPACEK play their caring parents who try to maintain their secrecy and inform Winnie of the pros and cons of immortality. AMY IRVING & VICTOR GARBER play Winnie's rich and conservative parents who want the best for her, but come off as unaware or uncaring about how she feels about their choices for her. BEN KINGSLEY plays the mysterious stranger who's been tracking down the Tucks for a long time so that he can also become immortal. He threatens and attempts to kill various characters. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated drama. Violence consists of a death due to a purposeful blow to someone's head and several people being shot (but since the latter are immortal, they're okay). Some property damage is also present, and some of those scenes could be upsetting or suspenseful to some viewers, particularly younger ones. The film also contains themes and material dealing with death and immortality. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, and some tense family material is present. Several characters drink, two young characters partially disrobe to go swimming, and one scene is slightly sensual in nature. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with flashes of light, some of that occurs late in the film during a thunderstorm. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Winnie's grandmother appears to have some wine (or perhaps fruit juice) to down a pill. Winnie's parents have wine in front of them with a meal. Some men have drinks in a saloon. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Miles comes off as sullen and ill-tempered, but we later learn why (because he lost his family). A local guy is disrespectful toward Winnie, thinking she's too much from high society. The man in the yellow suit extorts the Fosters' land from them in exchange for information about Winnie's whereabouts. He then threatens to harm Winnie if the Tuck's don't lead him to the spring of immortality and does shoot Jesse. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be unsettling or suspenseful for some viewers (particularly younger ones). Winnie finds herself lost in the woods and hears some strange animal sounds. We see a close-up of a noose after hearing that someone is to be hanged (which never occurs). GUNS/WEAPONS Rifles: Carried by some men in flashback and used to shoot a horse they mistook for a deer (we don't see the impact and the horse was fine due to also being immortal). Pistol: Used by the man in the yellow suit to shoot Jesse (who's okay due to being immortal). Rifles: Carried by various men and used by one to shoot both Jesse and Miles (but both get up unhurt). Swords: Carried by Miles and Jesse as they approach a guard. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR It's possible some imaginative kids could get the idea that they're immortal and thus take unnecessary risks. JUMP SCENES While running away from Jesse after initially meeting him, Winnie suddenly runs into Miles (and that might startle/surprise some viewers). MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of such music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 use each of "Oh Lord" and "Oh my God" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY Jesse undresses in front of Winnie (to her embarrassment) down to his long johns (he's shirtless) so that he can go swimming. She eventually joins him (clothed in her full and non-revealing undergarments) in the pond. Winnie dances in front of Jesse (in a moment of letting herself go, but the scene is slightly sexually charged). The two later briefly kiss. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Winnie isn't happy with her stuffy life or the fact that her parents are planning to send her away to an all-girls academy. Winnie's parents worry about her disappearance and what they believe to be her kidnapping by the man in the yellow suit. We hear that Miles' wife and kids are dead and he's still bitter about that (we later learn that the wife took the kids and left after believing him to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for immortality). Winnie sees her mother tending to her dying grandmother and we then see a funeral for the grandmother. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The film's message that you don't have to live forever, rather you just have to live, and that one shouldn't fear death, but rather the unlived life. The pros and cons of immortality and whether it would be a blessing or curse. Parents expectations of their children. Winnie's parents worry about her disappearance and what they believe to be her kidnapping by the man in the yellow suit. VIOLENCE Jesse briefly grabs Winnie to prevent her from drinking from the magical spring. She then runs into Miles who grabs her and drags her off (eventually having her on horseback). We hear sounds of violence in a saloon where Miles is playing poker. We then see one man throw him out onto the street (allegedly for cheating). We see a flashback of Jesse falling from a tree, but don't see the impact of him landing on his neck (and then hear that he was fine due to his immortality). The same holds true for some men shooting a horse they mistook for a deer (we see the shooting but don't see the impact, but hear that the horse was fine), as well as Angus being bit by a rattlesnake. We see some men burning Miles' house with torches in the past due to believing him dealing in black magic. The man in the yellow suit shoots Jesse with a pistol, knocking him to the ground, but Jesse is okay moments later due to being immortal. The man then holds the gun to Winnie. Mae hits a man on the back of the head with a rifle rather hard, killing him. Angus sets the family house on fire (to destroy any evidence). A guard fires a rifle and hits both Miles and Jesse, knocking both to the ground. They then get up and he runs away. Reviewed September 28, 2002 / Posted October 11, 2002