WEST SIDE STORY | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"WEST SIDE STORY"
(2021) (Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Musical: A recently paroled gang leader tries to keep the peace between his gang and their rivals, but creates a problem when he starts dating the other leader's sister.

PLOT:

It's the 1950s and poorer sections of New York City are being redeveloped, thus leaving rival gangs with increasingly less turf to claim as theirs. Returning to that world is Tony (ANSEL ELGORT), the leader of the white Jets whose chief rivals are the Puerto Rican Sharks led by Bernardo (DAVID ALVAREZ). Tony's been in prison for the past year for beating up another gang member and has decided to turn over a new leaf in his life, much to the dismay of his number two, Riff (MIKE FAIST), who wants him to rejoin the gang and battle the Sharks.

Tony, who's taken a job working for local drugstore owner Valentina (RITA MORENO), wants no part of that, but gets talked into attending a dance where members from both gangs will be present. As is Maria (RACHEL ZEGLER) who lives with her brother, Bernardo, and his girlfriend, Anita (ARIANA DeBOSE), and is being set up at the dance with Chino (JOSH ANDRES RIVERA).

But when she and Tony lock eyes at the dance, it's love at first sight. That enrages Bernardo who makes a scene, with his actions setting up a scheduled rumble between the gangs. Tony wants to keep the peace, but his growing relationship with Maria creates further friction between the rival gangs, meaning their relationship could be in jeopardy.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of musicals and/or anyone in the cast, they probably will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For some strong violence, strong language, thematic content, suggestive material and brief smoking.

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.