Should you bring the kids? Yes, but best for kids 12 and older due to a few scenes of gang violence. For more info, see "Bringing the Kids" below.

THE STORY: This movie tells the real-life story of Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank), a fresh-faced young teacher whose first assignment is teaching at-risk kids who've been written off by the system.

It's the fall of 1994, in Room 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. Swank's portrayal of Gruwell is giddy and girlish, and you get the feeling she's a lamb being led to slaughter. The other teachers scoff at the notion that she'll actually teach these kids something. They also advise her NOT to wear the pearls her Dad gave her, but she does anyway. I think she wants to show the students she trusts them.

The students: a mix of African-American, Latino, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Caucasian kids. Many have grown up in rough neighborhoods and know violence first hand. They have three things in common: they hate school, they hate Gruwell, and they hate each other.  The mood in L.A. is tense, too, with the Rodney King riots and O.J. Simpson trial fresh in peoples' minds.

Instead of giving up, Gruwell moonlights at other jobs to buy the kids books (the administration won't let them use school books – they'll "ruin" them). So she buys the books herself: "Night" by Elie Wiesel, "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl," and "Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo," by Zlata Filipovic.

The students – played by April Hernandez, Rock Anthony, Dre Bowie, and others -- are none too thrilled about reading, but they soon discover that the authors' lives were much like their own – filled with violence. One day, Gruwell dumps a stack of blank notebooks on her desk, and the students start writing diaries about their everyday lives: gangs, immigration, drugs, violence, abuse, and suicide are the hot topics.

The kids' enthusiasm grows, and they name themselves "The Freedom Writers," in honor of the Civil Rights leaders, the Freedom Riders. Soon, those once apathetic, frustrated kids evolve into a close-knit, motivated family. They raise funds and arrange for visits from Zlata Filipovic and Miep Gies (Pat Carroll), the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family during WWII. The teens also raise money to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., where they present their diary to Secretary of Education Richard Riley.

Sub-plots involve Erin's father (Scott Glenn), a wealthy man who doesn't understand his daughter's passion for these kids. Patrick Dempsey plays her husband, a guy who's struggling to find his own path and who isn't very supportive of her teaching.

NOTE: In 1998, the real-life Freedom Writers won the Spirit of Anne Frank Award and traveled to New York for the acceptance ceremony. And in 1999, they traveled to Europe and visited Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, the concentration camps in Germany and Poland, and their friend, Zlata, in her native Sarajevo, Bosnia.

THE WRAP-UP: Inspiring, moving, and hopeful, this movie reinforces the idea that one person really CAN make a difference, both in their community and in the greater world. The goal of The Freedom Writers is to help kids form a community where they feel safe, accepted, and understood. The Web site, www.gruwellproject.org offers good insight on how kids and teachers can make a difference.

BRINGING THE KIDS:

PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): The themes in this movie are too intense for little ones, but it's never too early to teach kids the value of connecting with other people. Check out "Postcards From Buster," the TV series about a little bunny who sends video postcards home to his friends while flying around the country with his dad. Touting cultural awareness, this thoughtful series shows that even though we all live in different places, perhaps we’re not so different after all.

GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6 - 10): With drugs, violence and other gritty themes, this movie is too disturbing for most grade-schoolers. Language includes at least one "f" word and some milder expletives. A better choice is the PG-rated "Akeelah and the Bee," about a girl living in a poor section of L.A. who overcomes her fears to compete in the National Spelling Bee. Like the kids in "Freedom Writers," Akeelah learns that words can change the world.

TWEEN / TEEN (ages 11+): The great thing about this movie is that it doesn't romanticize anything about life in a poor, racially charged area, where just getting through the day alive is an accomplishment. But no matter where they live, kids can always use an extra hand to help guide them. They need to know it's ok to ask for help. 

SCORE: 3.5 out of 4 Reels