Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 13+
Coming-of-age classic still a must-see for teens.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this movie holds up beautifully for teens. Because it's set in the '60s, there is smoking and loads of drinking. There's a fistfight, some off screen gunshots, drag racing, and some language you might not want your kids using at the dinner table. Teens challenge authority, drink and drive, talk about sex, make out, and yes, there's the odd shot of the naked backside.
- Families can talk about how older teens feel about leaving home, and moving away from everything they know. Which characters do you most identify with? Where do you expect to go after high school?
The good stuff
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Positive messages: Drag racing. Drunk driving. Teens disrespect authority (cops are mocked, for example). Non-white children don't exist in this slice of early sixties America that George Lucas chooses to portray. One girl says she is not allowed to listen to Wolfman Jack because her parents (mistakenly) assume he is black.
What to watch for
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Violence: Fisticuffs. Gunshots during a robbery.
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Sex: Flashing bare bums. Back seat necking and petting.
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Language: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: One boy gets a stranger to buy alcohol at a liquor store and then gets so drunk that he throws up. He also drives after drinking.