CabaretMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Cabaret."

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Avg. Critic Score: 80 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Austin Chronicle |

    Minnelli and Grey sparkle, and the Fosse flash is everywhere in evidence. Read full review

  • 100
    TV Guide |

    Chilling Fosse vision of Weimar Berlin, stylishly directed and choreographed, featuring a show-stopping musical performance by Minnelli, Grey's unforgettable emcee and thoughtful acting from Michael York. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety |

    It is literate, bawdy, sophisticated, sensual, cynical, heart-warming, and disturbingly thought-provoking. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    This is no ordinary musical. Part of its success comes because it doesn't fall for the old clich that musicals have to make you happy. Instead of cheapening the movie version by lightening its load of despair, director Bob Fosse has gone right to the bleak heart of the material and stayed there well enough to win an Academy Award for Best Director. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times |

    Cabaret is one of those immensely gratifying imperfect works in which from beginning to end you can literally feel a movie coming to life. Read full review

  • 80
    Empire | Kim Newman

    It stands as a hugely enjoyable, occasionally chilling, musical. Read full review

  • 70
    Chicago Reader | Jonathan Rosenbaum

    It's entertaining and stylish, though maybe not quite as serious as it wants to be. Read full review

  • 30
    Time |

    By the time Scenarist Allen and Director Fosse have wrung them out, what's left - with one exception - is mostly slack and sour. Read full review

View more reviews for Cabaret on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Influential '70s musical features sex and mature themes.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this Academy-Award-winning musical is chock full of sexual innuendo and frank talk about casual sex, both hetero- and homosexual. Main characters smoke and drink throughout the film while living decadent, if impoverished, lives. The movie is set against the backdrop of the Nazis' rise to power in Germany, with a couple scenes of violence related to Nazi conflicts. The main character has an abortion.
  • Families can talk about Sally Bowles' emotional state. What drives Sally to want to become a star? Why do you think she has adopted such an intense personality? Why does she change her mind about her relationship with Brian?
  • Talk about what purpose sex serves to the characters in this movie. How do their values compare to yours?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: The messages are complicated, but involve the importance of love and companionship, as well as the incredible human capacity for endurance.
  • rolemodels true-1 Positive role models: Certainly nobody would wish Sally Bowles' life on their loved one since it's an emotionally fragile one aided by sex and alcohol. But Bowles and the other main characters are good at heart. A friend, Fritz, reveals himself as a Jew in order to marry the woman he loves, despite knowing that his admission is dangerous in the Nazi era.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: A few violent scenes -- one of a man getting beaten up and left unconscious, one of a crime scene where a man appears dead with blood around him, and one tussle between a main character and some Nazis that results in a bruised face.
  • sex false3 Sex: Plenty of discussion about sex -- Bowles talks about how she has frequent casual sex, another character describes an aggressive sexual encounter, brief talk about homosexual relations. A few post-coital scenes. Some kissing. The main character has an abortion.
  • language false3 Language: Moderate frequency of swear words like "bastard," "goddamnit," "screw," and "s--t."
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Frequent smoking and drinking, sometimes to excess and sometimes with the express intent to reduce anxiety.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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