 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Short Circuit
- Review Date: June 8, 2008
- PG
- Genre: Comedy
- 1986
Common Sense Media says
Funny, bullet-proof robot might charm older kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that from the opening scene -- which shows robots attacking and blowing up mannequins and heavy war machinery -- to the closing moments -- when bad guy-soldiers are trying to destroy the beloved robot-hero -- guns, rifles, lasers, and automatic weaponry are fired at regular intervals. No one is injured or killed, but the lovable robot character is in danger throughout. Also expect frequent, angry and/or frustrated swearing and mild profanity in many sequences.
What's the story?
Five robots have been developed to be used in wartime. They're powerful fighting machines. During a storm, lightning strikes one of the robots. "Number 5" malfunctions and escapes from the compound. Hiding out with Stephanie (Ally Sheedy), the robot surprisingly begins to take on the characteristics of a human being. While the security team from the company sets out to find and destroy Number 5 before it blows anything up, Newton (Steve Guttenberg) and Ben (Fisher Stevens), the scientists who created the robot, try to find him first and save him.
Is it any good?
It doesn't get much more simplistic than this. The good guys are good; the bad guys are bad; nobody changes much. But the ride has its message and its moments. The message: it's wrong to kill. The moments come when Number 5 meets '80s culture, particularly TV, movies, and commercialism.
The highlight is when the robot mimics what he takes in around him, imitating John Wayne, The Three Stooges, George Raft, and John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. This movie is fun and harmless if viewers can get past the skin-deep characters (and performances), unnecessarily fiery battle sequences, and the lighter-than-air, obligatory romance.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how the fighting in this movie looks less than real. Why does no one get hurt in all the gunfire? Also, what makes Number 5 think he's alive? What human feelings does he begin to have? How does the movie show that Stephanie is a caring person? Why is Ben funny? Do people from India really sound like Ben?
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AGE
Too much bad language for our taste; otherwise great movie.
The movie itself is very good, but has a lot of foul language like "sh*t" and "a**hole". Quite unnecessary for such a wonderful story. Without this it would be quite the classic. Someone should make an edited version of it.
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AGE
This movie has very inappropriate language throughout the entire movie. If it were one or two times, I would overlook it, but the variety of curse words combined with the frequency make this movie inappropriate for children under 12, and even then I'm not sure I want my 12 year old hearing some of this language.
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AGE
Not the movie I remember!
My almost-5-year-old LOVED Wall*E so when I came across a Short Circuit DVD, I just knew he'd get a kick out of that. Being rated PG, I figured it was safe so let him watch it without me in the room. I'd obviously forgotten about all the language because when I heard the "mild" profanity, it shocked me. All I remembered was how funny the robot was & how engaging. Fortunately, my son doesn't know the words they used were bad words - he doesn't hear those in our home - so it went over his head but I'm not going to give him the chance to learn them. I gave the DVD away. Sad, too, because it's such a cute movie otherwise.
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Kid, 9 years old
April 22, 2011
AGE
A good movie for 8 year olds
I saw this movie when I was 5 overal I had no idea it had bad language sex consumerism and drinking drugs and smoking I just knew it was sort of violent
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AGE
Not good for kids (and the acting is poor anyway)
I guess I forgot how much swearing and sexual references were in this movie, not to mention that the acting (especially by Ally Sheedy) is just poor. There is a lot of swearing and even an actor saying he is "sporting a woody." Too bad as the story plot is kind of cute but I would say this movie is really not appropriate for kids at all.
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AGE
the only cuss words in this is p-ss,s--t,h-ll,d--n,b---h,b-----d,dips--t,bulls--t,holy s--t a-s and a--hole
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AGE
Not as good as I remember
I had purchased this movie in a used store because I remembered liking it as a child. My children (6 and 9) wanted to see it due to their fascination with robots. I turned it off shortly after realizing the amount of language in it was appalling. There is also an early scene where Ally Sheedy is being abused by her (apparent) boyfriend (pushed and yelled at). There is no real family values in the movie and there are many better choices for a peaceful evening.
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AGE
Where did the acting go?
What can one say about this?
A. It has a huge stereotype with an Indian man who is not even played by an Indian man:
B. Would you take it well if a robot showed up in your home?
C. He is alive? Really? Any more cliches?
D. Who ripped off who? Did this rip WallE or did WallE rip this?
E. all of the above:
The answer is E! A cute movie for younger kids, but not the best for a movie lover.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 8, 2011
AGE
Good for Tweens
It's a good sleep-over movie for tweens. They know that the language is wrong and can be ok with the other stuff. Yeah, language is bad, but it would be ok for tweens.
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AGE
Still as funny now as it was
My husband and I laughed hysterically while watching this older movie with our kids. My only objection to having our 5 and 6 year old sons watching it was the swearing. We had to have a discussion about why we don't talk like that. And the opening scene was a little scary. But they loved the rest of the movie and begged to watch it again. The little sexual innuendos went right over their heads, as we had expected. Our tween daughter was indifferent to the movie at first, but she enjoyed it eventually.
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| Topics: | adventures, friendship, robots |
| Studio: | Columbia Tristar |
| Director: | John Badham |
| Cast: | Ally Sheedy, Fisher Stevens, Steve Guttenberg |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 98 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | May 9, 1986 |
| DVD release date: | March 23, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
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