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Is Poms Kid Friendly or Even Mom Friendly?

The movie POMS came out over Mother’s Day Weekend and was being touted as a movie to see with your mom. Well after watching it, I’m not sure I’d want to take my mom to this one. Perhaps if my mom and I swore at each other and laughed at sexualized jokes. But we don’t. I’m a fan of an underdog story, but POMS was a miss. Is POMS kid friendly? If you want to make it a multigenerational night at the movies, here’s what you need to look out for in POMS regarding language, violence, and sexual content.

Is POMS kid friendly? Is it even good for moms?

Is Poms Kid Friendly?

I’m still trying to understand who POMS was made for. With a cast as talented as this one, I was disappointed in the lame attempts at humor to address serious subjects. By all means, laughter is the best medicine, but watching this movie with my kids or my mom would have made me blush. Let’s get to it.

Language in POMS

In the words of Nick Fury, “Oohoo, you kiss your mother with that mouth?” POMS was full of profanity. I counted at least two uses of bit–, 13 uses of sh–, 4 hells, 3 uses of a–, one bada–, and one a–hole. There were also many instances of the Lord’s name in vain. At least 7 uses of “oh my g-d,” 8 uses of G-d, 2 uses of Jesus Christ, and 2 uses of g-ddammit.

There were also a lot of sexual language like talk of erections, hot balls, tits, boobies, slut, whore, and di–head.

Sexual Content in POMS

There were many sexual references including phrases like “get laid,” one woman explaining she got 2nd place, because the winner had sex with the judges, and one character fighting with a younger girl, and telling her to “get pregnant.” There’s also a scene where they show a sexual education video called, “Let’s talk about sex,” and there’s a song about STDs, etc. 

Violence in POMS

Violence is minimal. In one scene a character does take a weapon to a car. Also in another scene, it’s implied that one character killed her husband to join the cheerleading club.

What is Poms About?

Martha is an introverted woman who moves to a retirement community that has shuffleboard, golf, bowling and other activities. Hoping to be left alone, she meets Sheryl, a fun-loving neighbor who insists that they become best pals. After coming out of her shell, Martha and her new friend decide to form a cheerleading squad with their fellow residents. As the two women hold auditions, they soon learn that it’s never too late to follow your dreams, even when the odds are stacked against you.

Poms movie review

I applaud the effort to create a story about never giving up on your dreams. However, there is a real story behind the Sun City Poms. I would have rather seen that story come to life on the screen than a completely unrealistic tale of older women trying to compete in a regular cheerleading competition. 

I really wanted this to be a movie I could watch with my mother and teenage daughter to share in some laughs together. While there were sentimental moments and lessons about friendship and death, adding raunchy jokes to try to include a younger demographic felt forced and trite. Sass I appreciate; raunchy is the easy way out. 

The movie moved slowly, and I found myself wishing something interesting would happen. At least the last 5 minutes brought some energy, and I cheered for those women to shake their pom poms.  It’s a shame, because Poms had potential, but the writers did not give this story or this cast the dignity it deserved. 

Dee

Tuesday 14th of May 2019

Thanks for the insights Tania! I appreciate your honesty.

tanialamb

Thursday 16th of May 2019

You're welcome!