Netflix Dash & Lily is an adorable holiday love story which isn’t perfect, but love never is. It is geared toward the teen base, but is it appropriate for all ages? Check out my parents guide review to find out!
Our streaming accounts are being bombarded with holiday movies for our viewing pleasure, but with the amount of these films being thrown at us, many are lost in the mix. Netflix Dash & Lily is one I believe will stand out above the rest. This series seems to be geared towards more of a teen audience, it was adapted from the 2010 young adult genre novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan called Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. But is this new Netflix series appropriate for all ages? My parents guide review will break it down for ya!
Netflix Dash & Lily quotes
Netflix Dash & Lily Parents Guide
The story begins introducing Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily (Midori Francis), both seem to be going through a difficult time this holiday season, with their Christmas plans not what they envisioned. Both are also total opposites on their outlook towards Christmas. Lily is a Christmas enthusiast and has romantic visions of the holiday, she even gathers with her Caroler’s each year to spread their Christmas joy. Dash is the complete opposite, he is somewhat of a Grinch when it comes to Christmas and pretty much life in general.
In addition, Lily seems to be a bit unlucky in love. Maybe unlucky isn’t the right word, her love life is nonexistant, she has never even been kissed. With persuasion from her brother and her brother’s boyfriend, she decides to leave a notebook in a library with sort of a scavenger hunt inside — hoping to find a recipient who will “get her” and in the process, be the one she is looking for. Very romantic, am I right? Dash is the lucky recipient who happens along her notebook but will these opposites attract? You have to watch it to find out for yourself!
Dash & Lily Appropriate For All Ages?
Okay parents, let’s take a look at the “flags” you may be looking for in this series.
Drinking: There is underage drinking involved. Both Dash and Lily are teenagers, in fact Lily announces that she is 17 years old. At one point in the series, we see Lily upset and drink away her feelings, eventually becoming intoxicated, leading to questionable choices she makes. Some other instances of drinking, Dash pours himself a glass of his dad’s alcohol and older friends of Lily’s drink alcohol from a flask.
Sexual Content: Lily’s brother (who is gay) has a few instances in which he is interrupted in the middle of some sort of sexual activity with his boyfriend. Nothing is shown, as the pair are under blankets but it is definitely implied.
Language: There were some damn’s, a**hole, hell, b*tch and even a d*ck used. No extreme curse words such as the F-word, are said.
As a parent to both a 15 year old and 12 year old, I would allow both my kids to watch this series. Now, I am not super strict on what they are allowed to watch. I am lax on the language and violence, but I felt the content shown in this series was PG-13.
Overall Thoughts
Netflix Dash & Lily was a super cute holiday series that gave us a different perspective to these predictable romance stories. It is extremely fesitive and romantizes New York City during Christmas-time. What I truly appreciated about it was the message of love delivered to teens. Dash and Lily get to know eachother through their personalities and thoughts, they do not even meet until the end of the series. So, it drives in the point that love and romance is not all about looks, but instead finding the someone you really connect with.
As far as predictablity, I would actually go on a limb and say I did not find this movie to be another run of the mill teen romance story. In fact, there were times which I was not sure how Dash and Lily’s love story was going to end. The film goes beyond the teen romance and dives into other relationships (past and present) in the pairs lives. It’s charm is sure to win over audiences, as it did me.
