VICTORIA & ABDUL | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"VICTORIA & ABDUL"
(2017) (Judi Dench, Ali Fazal) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: The elderly monarch of England unexpectedly takes on an everyday Indian man as her close personal confidant and teacher.

PLOT:

It's the late 1800s in British controlled India and Abdul Karim (ALI FAZAL) is a Muslim Indian who works as a prison clerk. Due to his height, he's selected to present Queen Victoria (JUDI DENCH) -- the Empress of India -- with a ceremonial coin. When the other man also chosen for the duty is unavailable, a man by the name of Mohammed (ADEEL AKHTAR) is selected as his replacement. While he's reluctant and not particularly pleased with traveling to Britain or dealing with the British, Abdul is quite excited. So much so that he breaks royal protocol and looks the Queen in the eye during his presentation.

Having observed his handsome looks and bored with her daily royal routine, Victoria orders that the two Indian men become her footmen, much to the dismay of Sir Henry Ponsonby (TIM PIGOTT-SMITH), the head of the household and Dr. Reid (PAUL HIGGINS). It gets worse when the Queen elevates Abdul's status and assigns him as her personal confidant and teacher of all things Indian.

That doesn't sit well with Henry, Dr. Reid, and the rest of the staff, or Prime Minister Salisbury (MICHAEL GAMBON) and especially Victoria's adult son, Bertie (EDDIE IZZARD), who can't wait for her to die so that the throne can be all his. From that point on, Victoria and Abdul's platonic relationship continues to evolve as does resistance against that from everyone else.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Those into history or the British monarchy might be interested, but overall it doesn't likely seem much of a draw for many kids.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For some thematic elements and language.

To continue reading the review and all of the highly detailed, scene-by-scene listings of the sex, nudity, profanity, violence and more (15 categories):

or

Just $7.95/month or $47/year

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.