Tooth Fairy

Tooth Fairy – Cynical ice hockey star, Derek Thompson, doesn’t shy away from telling kids the truth but when he tells his girlfriend’s young daughter that the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist, he’s taken to the Tooth Fairy realm where he is punished for being a ‘dream crusher’ and sentenced to two weeks tooth fairy duty. He soon realises that in order to get the job done quickly is to do it correctly but will his attitude change enough to allow him to learn his lesson?

Tooth Fairy (2010) – Director: Michael Lembeck

Rating: PG

Running Length: 71 minutes

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Stephen Merchant, Julie Andrews

Genre: Comedy

REVIEW: ‘TOOTH FAIRY’

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is quickly becoming known more for his movie roles than his wrestling career. His roles mostly portray him as the burly tough guy in all-out action movies so it is a refreshing change to see him as an ordinary, flawed man who doesn’t solely rely on his strength to succeed; his silly, childish side coming to the fore establishes his ability to appeal as much to families as anyone else.

‘Tooth Fairy’ manages the balance well of protagonist Derek (played by Johnson) being at times thoroughly unlikable but also having a good heart (too often the negative sides of a character’s personality take over their ‘good’ side). His lessons are learned well and his character develops nicely as the movie progresses. His interactions with his tooth fairy case worker, Tracy (played by Stephen Merchant) and his girlfriend’s teenage son, Randy, (played by Chase Ellison) are believable, having enough conflict to make the more positive connections less twee.

Tooth Fairy is silly, fun and entertaining, it may not be one for every member of the family but it is great for kids and let’s face it, adults will love seeing this tough guy in an entirely different role, especially in a pretty pink dress!

CONTENT: IS ‘TOOTH FAIRY’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

There are several scenes involving violent clashes at ice hockey games where players are body-slammed into the outer walls of the rink. Those who are hit are not seen to suffer but there is a slow-motion shot of a tooth flying through the air as a result of one of these clashes, one of the characters is celebrated as being particularly good at these hits and does them at every game.

On several occasions, Derek is mean to young kids who seek his approval. He tells them how unlikely it is that they will ever succeed in anything as there will always be someone better than them. He explains this as simply being realistic, not caring that the kids he is speaking to are heartbroken.

A family are covered in ‘amnesia dust’ which makes them forget the last few seconds. Derek unknowingly uses too much and sometime later this family are shown to be completely clueless as to who they are. The family dog is shown in close-up and its eyes roll around comically.

As part of his job, Derek is given several ‘magical’ items to help him, when he abuses them to make his job easier, they are confiscated which leads him to trust someone who gives him inferior versions of the items. When he uses them, his head stretches and distorts, he is shocked by this and cries out but he does not appear to suffer or be in any pain, this is done for comedic effect so should not be scary for kids.

Derek gets arrested when one of his tooth fairy assignments goes wrong and ends up in a cell with other criminals. One of them speaks to him and assumes he has been taking drugs and encourages him to give them up. The language used is ambiguous but the man talks about getting ‘cleaned up’ and offers to give him a ‘pamphlet’ to help him.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘TOOTH FAIR’ FOR KIDS?

‘Tooth Fairy’ is a fun, family friendly movie that tells a predictable story well. It doesn’t break new ground but kids are bound to love the comedy and the pace ensures that nothing is rushed or dragged out plus any adult watching will love Dwayne Johnson’s fairy transformation. We feel that ‘Tooth Fairy’ is appropriate for kids aged 6 and over.

• Violence: 2/5
• Emotional Distress: 1/5 (some kids may be a little upset by Derek’s lack of compassion and that he doesn’t care about crushing the dreams of young children. Several established characters are given the amnesia dust, one of these is more sad than the others but is not distressing)
• Fear Factor: 0/5
• Sexual Content: 0/5       
• Bad Language: 0/5 (some mild insults like ‘jerk’ and ‘idiot’. One character says ‘bullsh-’ before being cut off)
• Dialogue: 1/5 (a character says ‘if you want to fly, you’ve got to believe’. This could encourage young children to think this way)  
• Other notes: Deals with themes of understanding childhood dreams, encouraging childhood fantasy, accepting punishment when it’s due, taking responsibilities seriously, making the effort to bond with children in a single-parent relationship and being kind to those around you.
• A man gambles with his friends and when he runs out of money, he steals it from a child who is sleeping.

Words by Laura Record

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