Fine, I admit it. I used Facebook at an early age. But, honestly, I know a lot of kids on there, so I wasn’t the only one. I have about 40 friends that were below the minimum age of 13, and that’s just from my old school. Why do so many people use Facebook when they are supposedly too young for it? Because it’s so dang addictive! Apparently, over 500 million people agree.
The Social Network tells the story of how this company came to be when Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerburg, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, studied computer science at Harvard. Later, he faces lawsuits by his former best friend and co-founder Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), who was the Chief Financial Officer for the company, and three university students, who accuse him of stealing their idea.
The movie was pretty good overall, and it asks some good questions about friendship and what’s the right thing to do. I think it was put together brilliantly, except maybe one thing. A bit of explanation before the movie starts would help a little, as it was a little confusing at times. The film jumps back and forth between the past and present, telling the story in flashbacks. Despite Aaron Sorkin’s good writing, there was a lot of dialog during the out-of-court testimony to understand.
Is this film appropriate for kids, though? Well, maybe teens. It does have some sketchy stuff, in language, sexual content (no nudity) and drugs. It is mostly a true story though, which is very interesting to watch. So, if your kid is okay with seeing their very own Brenda Song (generally seen on the Disney channel) in a sexual scene, it could be a learning experience.
Age Recommendation: I’d say it’s not so much age here as it is maturity. If your kid uses Facebook, he or she may *like* this, but if he/she wouldn’t understand or would not be able to take certain parts, then … why is your kid on Facebook?
Final Verdict: All in all, a great film. I think it deserves a 9/10.
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