Love Sarah parents guide

Love Sarah Parent Guide

Gazing at mouthwatering treats and listening to plummy British accents as the plot unfolds could provide a relaxing break for genre fans.

Overall C+

Digital on demand: A young woman, determined to fulfill her mother's dream, turns to a close friend and her grandmother to open a bakery in Notting Hill, London. But nothing is ever that simple...

Release date January 15, 2021

Violence A
Sexual Content B
Profanity D
Substance Use D

Why is Love Sarah rated Not Rated? The MPAA rated Love Sarah Not Rated

Run Time: 97 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Sarah (Candice Brown) and Isabella (Shelley Conn) are lifelong friends just embarking on their shared dream of opening a bakery in London. Sarah will be the chef and Isabella will run the business in a charming but decrepit space they have just rented in Notting Hill. When Sarah dies unexpectedly, Isabella believes that she has no choice but to sublet the property and return to the corporate world.

Sarah’s daughter, Clarissa (Shannon Tarbet), disagrees. The young dancer, now homeless after breaking up with her boyfriend, has just moved in with her grandmother, Mimi. Burdened with regrets over a prolonged estrangement from Sarah, Mimi agrees to help Clarissa and Isabella reboot their dreams of croissants, mousse, and macarons. But they’re going to need a baker and when Mathew (Rupert Penry-Jones) walks through the door, life gets complicated…

It’s particularly cruel to release Love Sarah in January. Watching one Instagram-worthy pastry after another is torture for anyone who’s trying to lose the excess weight they gained at Christmas or over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. But if you’re strong-willed or don’t need to slim down, gazing at mouthwatering treats and listening to plummy British accents as the plot gradually unfolds could provide a relaxing break.

I am a big fan of chick flicks and I can’t figure out why I didn’t love this film. It features lovely British settings, a harmless plot, and capable actors. Celia Imrie, in particular, stands out as the bereaved mother resolved to soldier on with a stiff upper lip. Like most British dramas, it also eschews treacly sentimentality – always a plus in a romantic film. It even celebrates the diversity of London as the bakers reach out to satisfy the tastes of their multi-ethnic customers. The movie does come with some negative content, primarily two dozen profanities, frequent alcohol consumption, and a scene where a main character smokes marijuana, but these moments don’t dominate the show. Its overall vibe is one of co-operation, kindness, and forgiveness.

As I have puzzled out the source of the film’s weakness, I recall the time I forgot to add a pinch of salt to a batch of muffins I was cooking. They smelled scrumptious and looked lovely but had absolutely no flavor. I think Love Sarah forgot to throw in a pinch of passion (by which I don’t mean steamy bedroom scenes). The movie looks fine, but it feels bland. The main characters all want to establish the bakery to honor Sarah but we never get the sense that they are fiercely devoted to baking. As anyone in the restaurant business will attest, you have to be obsessed with food in order to succeed. I’ve seen greater passion and dedication in the contestants on The Great British Baking Show than any of this movie’s characters – and that’s almost certainly why the movie falls flat.

Directed by Eliza Schroeder. Starring Shelley Conn, Shannon Tarbet, and Celia Imrie. Running time: 97 minutes. Theatrical release January 15, 2021. Updated

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Love Sarah
Rating & Content Info

Why is Love Sarah rated Not Rated? Love Sarah is rated Not Rated by the MPAA

Violence: None noted.
Sexual Content: An unmarried man and woman kiss and are later shown waking up in bed together. A character tries to discover the identity of her father. A woman mentions sex while setting up a date. There is a brief mention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Profanity: There are approximately two dozen profanities and coarse terms in the film, half of which are terms of deity. There are also three sexual expletives as well as scatological curses, minor swear words and crude terms for sexual anatomy.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Main characters down shots in a bar, followed by beer. A main character drinks beer alone. Main characters drink wine together. A main character smokes what looks like marijuana and mentions that she smokes too much weed. 

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Love Sarah Parents' Guide

Have you ever dreamed of doing something? What has helped you towards that goal? What has slowed you down?

Home Video

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In another British film, The Bookshop, a woman lives her dream as she opens a book store in an insular British town in 1959.