Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that HairBrained centers on Eli (Alex Wolff) a 14-year-old teen prodigy who enrolls in college, and is befriended by a 41-year-old who's also starting as a freshman. Eli is initially bullied by some fellow students, but soon finds his niche as the star of the school's Collegiate Mastermind team, a trivia competition where his intelligence makes him a star. Along the way, he attends several raucous parties filled with drunken students and fends off the aggressive advance of a senior coed seems determined to have her way with the young teen. There's a good bit of swearing, a few students smoking pot, and some flirting and more age-appropriate kissing between Eli and girl who's closer to his age and just as smart.
Sexual
Content
Two teens kiss and cuddle, and older college students talk about having sex. A college senior repeatedly propositions a 14-year-old prodigy who's now a freshman at the school. Some crude innuendo and one scene features a nude athlete in the gym shower, seen from behind.
Violence
Eli is repeatedly bullied by bigger and older college students. One loutish jock dunks Eli's head in the toilet, while a trio of snotty Harvard students slap him around. Other people menace and threaten him, though none of the incidents seem to intimidate him.
Language
A fair bit of swearing, including "s--t," "ass," "p---y," "balls," and "frigging."
Social
Behavior
Everyone, as Eli eventually realizes, can find a place where they can excel, something that will bring out their talents. But being a grump isn't going to get you very far.
Consumerism
One character drives an old Mercedes convertible and another uses an old Mac computer. Numerous well-known colleges are mentioned by name, especially Harvard.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Several scenes show college students drinking heavily at parties, mostly beer. Two teens share a joint. An older college student forces a younger teen to drink liquor from a flask, leaving the younger student staggering drunk, and later throwing up.