Recently watched Harvey with my 10 year old. She enjoyed the imaginary Harvey aspect but the adult themes required a lot of explaining: institutionalization of the mentally ill; involuntary institutionalization; sister Veta explictily mentions the problem with psychiatrists' obsession with S..E... I stiffened a bit and my 10 year old became wide-eyed and confused at that scene. That one scene is a bit of shock for the younger crowd. I do not agree with the 8+ rating, mostly due to this scene and the fact that the comedy of errors is too complicated for younger kids: Veta is institutionalized instead of Elwood and she is understandably traumatized by the experience. I would say 10 at the minimum, but 11 or 12 to understand the humor and very serious themes. For example, the 10 year old did not understand one bar's customer reference to "Yeah, I've been away for 90 days making license plates." The bar scenes are not that offensive; more like a scene from 'Cheers'-local bar where community comes together. There was the inevitable question also: "Where's the rabbit?". So, older is better to fully appreciate the quality of this wonderful film.
Harvey
(1950, Rated NR, Classic, Starring James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow)
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- I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
gentle but with adult themes
