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M*A*S*H* (1970)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 14, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 16.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Rollicking, biting, satirical classic is so 1970.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 16 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Trapper John and Hawkeye are sexist: Trapper John calling Hot Lips a "sultry bitch" and demand she be stripped naked and brought to him. He also asks for a nurse "who knows how to work in close without getting her tits in my way." Duke doesn't want to share his bunk with a black man, calling him a "negro boy." When one character thinks he might be gay, they call him a "fairy" and a "raging queen" and joke that he's okay because "he hasn't started raping anyone yet." They both speak gibberish Japanese when they land in Japan. They drug the star football players to win. They gamble and Hawkeye steals a Jeep.

  • Violence:

    Lots of emergency room blood: spurting blood, bloody body parts, sawing body parts. A doctor wants to kill himself because he thinks he's gay. Trapper John hits Burns. Burns attacks Hawkeye. Some football violence, including tackling and players being carted off the field on stretchers.

  • Sex:

    Lots of bawdy talk about brothels, masterbation, penis size, and lots of sexual comments about the female nurses on base. The guys rig it so Hoolihan exposes herself to the whole camp. Burns and Hoolihan have sex and their sounds are broadcast across the camp, Hawkeye has sex with a married nurse and encourages her to have sex with a man who thinks he's gay to "cure" him. Col. Blake is shown in bed with a much younger nurse.

  • Language:

    Considerable swearing, including "f--k," "hell," "son of a bitch," "ass," "dammit," "bitch," "goddamn" and "tits."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Considerable drinking and some smoking. Hawkeye and Trapper John drink martinis. Hawkeye talks about drinking gin and scotch separately. It's implied that characters are using speed. Everyone drinks beer. Football players are high.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of M*A*S*H* (1970) was written by Heather Boerner

Parents need to know that this classic film is excellent -- and also shows the marks of its time (1970) and the era in which it was set (the Korean War in the 1950s) with considerable sexist, racist, and xenophobic behavior. Hawkeye and Trapper John sexually harass Hoolihan because she disagrees with their free-wheeling behavior. Duke calls a black neurosurgeon a "negro boy" and Hawkeye and Trapper John speak gibberish Japanese. There's also considerable sex and brief nudity, as well as lots of surgery-related blood and gore.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the role of satire in American culture. How is this film a satire of war? What's fun about satire and what's not? What other movies use biting satire to make an important point? Do they do it as well as this movie does?
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More on M*A*S*H* (1970)

What’s the Story?

Robert Altman's rollicking war satire gets rolling when newly drafted surgeon "Hawkeye" Pierce (Donald Sutherland) arrives in Korea and immediately sets out to prove he's no military man. He steals a Jeep, kids around with Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt), and joins forces with fellow surgeon and rebel "Trapper" John McIntyre (Elliott Gould). They make short work of by-the-book officers like Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) and head nurse Margaret "Hot Lips" Hoolihan (Sally Kellerman), mostly by forms of humiliation that would today be considered sexual harassment. In short, they don't let being located in a war zone stop them from having fun.
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Is It Any Good?

It's easy to see why this blockbuster film became such a great TV show. Its series of wacky antics – including the pseudo suicide of a well-endowed dentist and golfing in Japan -- resemble nothing so much as a series of TV shows. There's no plot other than undoing the rigidness on which the military depends.

While this is all fun, it's also likely to be offensive to many viewers. The extreme sexism and sexualization of the female nurses, the homophobic comments about a man who thinks he might be gay, and the condescending attitudes about people of color may be accurate for their time, but are likely to mar some people's enjoyment of the film.

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Movie Details

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Director: Robert Altman
Run time: 116 minutes
Theatrical release: 11/20/1970, DVD release: 9/7/2004
MPAA Rating: R

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Anonymous
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 2.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • Excessive consumerism

    THE SAME

    on TV: M*A*S*H I am J*A*S*O*N*H*A*D*D*A*D and i am 10 yo male closer friends to lover family

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate
  2. Adult Reviewer
    Anonymous
    I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it 3.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive consumerism

    BAD WORD$!

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate
  3. Parent Reviewer
    Plague
    Lives in Washington
    Kids ages: 11
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 5.0

    M*A*S*H

    When my dad first showed this movie to me I loved it. Super funny and the cast is fantastic. An instant classic for sure.

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate

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