What we flagged
View all categories
Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel
Rent or buy on
Apple TV Store
Amazon Video
YouTube
Our take
John Carpenter's Starman is a soft science-fiction romance more than a scare film. An alien takes a human form and travels with a widow while federal agents close in with guns and roadblocks. Language stays at damn, hell, the s-word, and a few sharper insults. Jenny and the Starman have sex after kissing; they are naked in bed, though no nudity is visible. Her grief for her husband also runs through the story. The sex scene, violence and science-fiction menace make this better suited to teens than younger children.
Uplifting themes
Curiosity, patience, and choosing kindness over fear drive the long road trip. The film keeps trusting empathy more than force, even when agents close in Jenny protects a stranger who needs help, and the visitor learns human care by watching her choices. Authority figures often choose control and capture first
Story (may spoil tone)
When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.
What we flagged
Details
Violence Agents wave guns, force roadside stops, and threaten the pair during th…
Agents wave guns, force roadside stops, and threaten the pair during the cross-country chase. Impact stays mild for an 80s sci-fi thriller, with little injury focus
Language Damn, hell, the s-word, and insults like b-word phrase show up in tense…
Damn, hell, the s-word, and insults like b-word phrase show up in tense stops and arguments. Strong language is infrequent rather than a constant barrage
Sex / nudity Jenny and the Starman have sex after passionate kissing. They are naked…
Jenny and the Starman have sex after passionate kissing. They are naked together in bed, although no nudity is visible. The scene is tender but the sex is clear, not merely implied
Drugs / alcohol Someone offers a cigarette on the road, and smoking appears in the back…
Someone offers a cigarette on the road, and smoking appears in the background of stops along the way. Nothing turns into a drinking or drug story for either traveller
Frightening Alien transformation and the sense of being hunted keep mild menace in…
Alien transformation and the sense of being hunted keep mild menace in play across the journey. The tone stays wondrous more often than scary, with wonder outweighing dread
Gore / death / weapons Handguns appear during pursuits and forced drives, enough to keep the f…
Handguns appear during pursuits and forced drives, enough to keep the federal chase feeling real. Blood and injury detail stay almost out of frame, so the weapons matter more as threat than gore
Grief / bereavement Jenny's husband has died, and that absence shapes how she reacts to the…
Jenny's husband has died, and that absence shapes how she reacts to the visitor's familiar face. Loss sits quietly under the romance without becoming the whole film
Flashing lights We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
Family watch notes
What other parents think.
Be the first family to leave a watch note.
Talk after watching
- The alien learns kindness by watching how people treat each other on the road. What small manners would you want a visitor from elsewhere to notice first?
- Jenny is still mourning when someone who looks like her husband appears. How do you talk about loss without pretending the ache is gone?
Ask ClearAge
Starman
Ask about this guide, or name another film to open its ClearAge page.
