Sensitive friendship drama mixes joy, serious themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a little
A pivotal scene involves a shooting, with police showing up in force at Eric and Malik's school. But neither the shooting nor the victim, a child, are shown. The victim also isn't shown at his funeral. The police aggressively raid Malik's family's apartment for drugs (even though they don't have any drugs), scaring them and damaging their property. Argument between friends. A relieved but scared mom yells at her son. Malik's grandmother mentions that there was a fire where they lived in the South before coming to Chicago; the subtext suggests that her family/neighborhood was traumatized by lynching and/or other racial violence. Eric's mother is dead (it happened before the movie starts).
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
The film's all-Black cast sensitively portrays Black characters living with dignity despite the societal mistreatment of poor Black families in the 1990s. Malik and Eric are excellent examples of layered, nuanced, and emotionally driven Black boy characters, countering the stereotypical portrayal of Black males as troublemakers and criminals who are often targeted by police. Pakistani American filmmaker Minhal Baig sensitively writes and films multilayered, meaningful Black characters. She also takes care not to exaggerate or linger on violence toward Black people, including avoiding the excruciating aftermath of a young Black boy's death. Her work represents a positive cross-cultural collaboration between South Asian and Black creatives.
Friendship and other relationships thrive with empathy and compassion. It's important to express your feelings, but don't hurt others in the process. Change is hard but can be good; being responsible for others is difficult but rewarding. Don't judge a book by its cover, and treat people with dignity and integrity. The movie offers a layered look at poverty, imagination, and hope through children's eyes, celebrating the innocence and magic of kids' ability to see the best in even the worst situations.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Malik and Eric have a loving friendship, often acting more like brothers than friends. Even though impending changes create a rift—and Eric acts out in sadness and anger—the two friends are ultimately able to make amends. Malik empathizes with others, including his grandmother, Anita. Dolores is a caring, responsible, hardworking mom who puts her family's best interests first.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that We Grown Now is a drama about two Black boys growing up in Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing projects in the early 1990s. Language is limited to "hell," "damn," "goddammit," and "oh my God," and there's no notable content related to sex or substance use. But there are scenes of police treating Black people harshly and with suspicion, and an off-screen tragedy is the result of gun violence. The movie offers a layered look at poverty, imagination, and hope through children's eyes, celebrating the innocence and magic of kids' ability to see the best in even the worst situations. But it also shows how children—especially Black children—face traumatic experiences that make them grow up too fast. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
This movie should be nominated for an Academy Award- so well done!
What's the Story?
WE GROWN NOW follows Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez), two friends growing up in Chicago's Cabrini-Green high-rise housing projects in 1992. Their lives take a turn when another boy around their age is tragically shot and killed. The incident helps reveal the differences in each boy's emotional state: While Malik still talks in terms of hope, an afterlife, and imagining brighter scenarios for the future, Eric is much more realistic—or, at worst, cynical—about the chances of a happier future.
This sensitive drama puts humanity at the center of its story about Black life. Refreshingly, We Grown Now shows that no matter what income bracket or station in life a Black family might be in, there's always hope, joy, friendship, and imagination to consider for quality, nuanced stories. And both James and Ramirez are incredible, impressively pulling off the tough job of bringing Malik and Eric to life. They do that and then some, portraying their characters' emotional intelligence as they grapple with everything life throws at them.
The film also does a great job of showing life through the boys' eyes: how there can still be magic, even in a place as theoretically devoid of magic as Cabrini-Green. A Black boy's point of view is largely undiscovered territory in Hollywood, but We Grown Now offers a strong argument for why we should see more of it, especially when police brutality against Black people—especially Black males—is still a hot-button issue. Perhaps some ground can be gained if more films like We Grown Now counter the stereotypical way that Black men and boys are portrayed in the media. It depicts them as emotionally complex human beings, just like anyone else. That's a point that really shouldn't have to be made, but We Grown Now makes it while putting those who view Black males with suspicion or other negative perspectives to shame.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way friendship is portrayed in We Grown Now. How does Malik and Eric's friendship develop? What connects them?
How does Eric's mindset differ from Malik's? How are they similar?
What commentary is the film making about social pressures faced by Black Americans, especially poor Black Americans? How does the film portray Black childhood?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Monique Jones
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
