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Tucker: The Man and His Dream

(1988, Rated PG, Drama, Starring Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Martin Landau)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 8, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Smoke-filled, rousing dramedy about corruption.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Someone calls a Japanese man a "Jap" and the way characters use the phrase "New Yorker," it's clear it's a stand-in for "Jew." Characters demean women, calling Vera "the little woman." Reference to Abe having served a prison sentence.

  • Violence:

    A car rolls with someone in it (no injuries). Preston shows photos of people killed in car accidents. A woman faints. A fire starts under a car.

  • Sex:

    Preston and Vera kiss and later make out on a bed (clothes on).

  • Language:

    Some swearing, most notably several uses of the words "damn" and "hell." Also used: "goddammit," "bastards," "son of a bitch," "prick," and "ass."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Most characters smoke constantly, including Tucker and Vera. Men smoke cigars. Characters drink martinis and champagne. Tucker and other men drink liquor from a bottle.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Tucker: The Man and His Dream

Parents need to know that while this movie is set in the 1940s and 1950s, there's considerable drinking, smoking, and swearing. There's also some kissing. Expect discrimination typical of the era: Abe calls Preston's partner a "Jap," and Preston says Jimmy's family is all in a relocation camp. Characters also use the phrase "New Yorker" to mean "Jewish" when speaking of Abe. And Bennington calls Vera "the little woman" in a belittling way. Also, some images of people killed in car accidents and bloodied may be too much for younger or more sensitive viewers.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the kind of work it takes to pursue a dream. Was Tucker a dreamer, a businessman, or an inventor? He did research, he worked with engineers, and he was a great salesman. Do you have to be all those things to start a new company? Do you have to lie?
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