Common Sense Note
Parents should know that while all the violence here involves cream pies and cream-loaded "splurge guns," there's still menace behind it and characters do "die" of their cream-filled wounds. There are cream massacres and cream-pie hits. There's also a great deal of sexualization of tween girls, with young girls saying that they watch their figures and dancing suggestively. Jodie Foster's character sings about how the men in the audience "don't have to be lonely."
Families can talk about what it means to act like an adult. Kids: How would you act if you were suddenly told you had to be a grown-up? Girls: What do you think about the characters who say they need to watch their weight? Parents: See our tips on talking to kids about body image.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Heather Boerner
Taking a cream pie to the face ain't easy -- and the kid actors in the campy BUGSY MALONE know that only too well. Here, you'll find a lot of silly mobster spoofing, great kid acting, and even a little disturbing look at young girls playing at being seductresses.
A pre-Happy Days, Charles in Charge, and Diagnosis Murder Scott Baio stars as Bugsy, a good guy who frequents a speakeasy and falls for ingénue Blousy Brown (Florrie Dugger). But when mobster Dandy Dan (Martin Lev) employs a new "splurge gun" that targets its victims with a steady stream of cream, he threatens the life and livelihood of Blousy, Bugsy, and Fat Sam (John Cassissi), the head of a mob family that still uses old-school technology of pies in the face to vanquish his foes. Can Bugsy help save Fat Sam's empire and keep his promises to Blousy, without falling prey to the advances of chanteuse Tallulah (Jodie Foster)?
Sure, the plot is silly, but it's meant to be. As a spoof of serious mobster movies like The Godfather, Bugsy Malone is delightful. It's great fun to watch some well-known actors -- chief among them, Oscar winner Foster -- play dress-up and lip sync (the bizarrely bad lip syncing makes it even more fun). After all, what could be less scary and threatening than a gun that shoots what looks like spit balls? And it's fun to watch the whole cast degenerate into the equivalent of a food fight at the end. These are just kids, the film makes clear.
Where the film seems less clear about the age of its stars is in its treatment of the tween girls in the film. Many parents may be horrified to see these girls who have yet to develop any curves say that they're "watching their weight." They may be even more uncomfortable with the slightly sexy dance moves of the chorus girls and the song Tallulah sings, promising the men in the audience that they "don't have to be lonely." Yikes. Kids watching it may not be aware of what that means, but parents may want to talk to their young children about it.
People who enjoy this film may also like the Pippi Longstocking film series and Annie.
Rate It!
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| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentLots of tween girls wearing sexy outfits, but no sexual behavior. Tallulah kisses Bugsy on the forehead. |
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ViolenceLots of comic violence with guns filled with cream. Instead of being shot with bullets, kids are "killed" with the help of semiautomatic "splurge guns." Scenes with these guns include a massacre at a speakeasy and pies in the face. Bugsy gets beaten up and robbed. Leroy boxes and punches someone out in the ring. |
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LanguageOne use of "hell." |
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Message |
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Social BehaviorLots of kid-themed debauchery, including a bootleg sarsaparilla racket, stealing, and breaking the law. |
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Commercialism |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoOnly if you count bootleg root beer. |
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