13 GOING ON 30

You get a familiar but appealing second-chance story. Jenna Rink discovers that money, romance, and professional success have not made her a better person. The film’s strongest idea is that correcting selfish and immoral choices matters more than keeping a dream job or gaining worldly success.

The movie has a few laughs, some goofy slapstick humor, and a warm, believable love story. But its lesson is surrounded by adult behavior, including sleeping around, adultery, partying, drinking, and a live-in boyfriend. Those elements may be too much for younger children, even though the story ultimately rebukes them.

For teenagers and adults, especially middle schoolers and up whose families can discuss the content, this is worth seeing.

Unpopular and unhappy 13-year-old Jenna Rink wishes she were 30. Her wish comes true, and she wakes up in a luxurious New York apartment as a wealthy magazine editor with a famous boyfriend.

When Jenna finds her best friend from middle school, she begins learning what her adult life has become. That discovery leads her to reconsider the choices she made and the kind of person she wants to be.

Three stars means this is a good, enjoyable film with clear limitations. The movie offers a few laughs, including goofy and slapstick humor, and its love story is warm and believable, though not a classic.

Its greatest strength is the moral movement at the center of the story. Jenna’s realization that she has become shallow and self-interested gives the comedy emotional purpose. The familiar plot keeps the film from feeling especially fresh, but the warm story and positive lesson give it lasting value.

The film presents a dominant moral worldview with a redemptive premise. It argues that people should correct their mistakes and choose love for others over selfish goals. Jenna’s adult life treats money and success as permission to behave badly, but the story ultimately rebukes that way of living.

The movie’s moral vision is complicated by its magical plot device and by some pagan morality that allows partying and sleeping around. Still, those behaviors are mostly rejected rather than celebrated. Jenna recognizes that her choices have made her a worse person and chooses what is good and true, even when that costs her success.

The central longing is for a second chance to become the right kind of person. Scripture likewise calls people to leave selfishness behind and walk in love: “walk in love, as Christ loved us” (Ephesians 5:2).

This warm comedy has a positive moral center: love and truth matter more than selfish success. Its adult elements call for discernment, especially with younger viewers. For teenagers and adults, WORTH THE TRIP — AGES 13 AND UP. For younger children, consider other.