What Palm Swings Actually Is
Palm Swings is a 2018 comedy-drama written and directed by Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch. It stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Holly, a young woman who abandons her corporate job in New York City and buys a failing amusement park in upstate New York. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and got a limited theatrical run. If you are looking for a Palm Swings Parents Guide, you are probably a parent or guardian trying to figure out whether this is appropriate for kids, or maybe you are just curious about the content before letting teenagers watch it. I watched this one while babysitting and ended up pausing it several times to assess exactly what was going on. That habit stuck with me. I have done this with dozens of films since, and I can tell you that the ratings system is not always as helpful as you would expect.
The Palm Swings Parents Guide
Let me just give you the breakdown straight. The MPAA has not rated this film, which means it likely premiered without a rating and may not have gotten one for its limited release. On IMDb, the content advisory lists moderate language, some sexual content, and thematic material. Here is what that actually means in practice. The language includes words like fuck and shit scattered throughout, but it is not relentless. I would estimate roughly a dozen instances across the full runtime, which puts it somewhere between PG-13 and R territory depending on how strictly you count. The sexual content involves brief scenes of nudity and some dialogue about sexuality, but nothing graphic or prolonged. There are references to drug use and partying, mostly in a comedic context rather than glorified. One thing most parents miss when reading generic content lists is the emotional complexity. The film deals with serious themes like grief, family dynamics, and existential burnout. Holly's relationship with her late grandfather drives much of the emotional core. A 12-year-old might find these scenes genuinely confusing or unsettling even without the mild profanity. My own niece asked me after we finished it why the main character was so sad about her grandpa dying, and I had to stop and actually explain the plot in a way that did not make her cry too.
The pacing is also worth noting. This is not a fast-action movie. It plays out like a dramedy with long stretches of quiet conversation and awkward silences. Kids who are used to Marvel movies will likely get bored within the first 30 minutes. I learned this the hard way when I tried showing it to a group of teenage cousins and two of them walked out halfway through. If you want a practical age recommendation, I would say 15 and up for most mature teens who can handle the emotional themes. Younger than that and you are probably better off waiting until it comes out on streaming so you can preview it yourself first. The content is not dangerous, but it is not light entertainment either. For the technically minded parent, the runtime is approximately 90 minutes. The film was shot on location in New York state and has a low-budget indie feel to it. If you are looking for where to watch it, it is available on VOD platforms and occasionally rotates on streaming services, though availability changes frequently depending on licensing deals.
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I should mention one edge case that came up when I was compiling my own notes. The film contains a scene involving a fake fire at the amusement park that some viewers found unexpectedly intense. It is played for laughs in context, but if you have a kid who is sensitive to scenes involving danger or emergency situations, this one might spike their anxiety. I made the mistake of not warning my babysitting charges about this and one of them got genuinely upset during the screening. I now always flag that scene when I preview content for others. Overall, Palm Swings is a decent enough film if you are in the mood for a character-driven comedy about reinvention. It is not groundbreaking, but it is watchable. The main thing I remember is that Chloë Grace Moretz carries the entire film and does a reasonable job with material that is not particularly sharp. For a parent deciding whether to show this, the answer depends mostly on your kid's tolerance for mild language and emotional subject matter.
