America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC, Syndicated)

common sense media says

One person's humiliation is another's chuckle.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that some home videos show people getting hurt. Many of the clips are practical jokes that are degrading and some cross the line when it comes to the ethical treatment of animals. Videos also poke fun at normal kid behavior.

Educational value: Not applicable.
Positive messages: This show (and others like it) encourage viewers to laugh at others' misfortunes -- which doesn't seem so bad when it's a mild pratfall but is much iffier when the clip makes it look like someone really got hurt. Some of the clips feature degrading practical jokes and questionable treatment of animals.
Positive role models: Some of the people in the featured videos are clearly shooting for their 15 minutes of fame; others don't seem to mind that people get hurt if the result is a funny video.
Violence & scariness: People are frequently shown being injured or inflicting injury on someone else.
Sexy stuff: Nudity and implied sexual behavior. Blurred body parts.
Language: Occasional inappropriate language is bleeped.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Some clips of adults drinking at weddings, restaurants, and at home. Implied drunken behavior.

More on America's Funniest Home Videos

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about when a joke is funny and when it becomes inapporpriate, unethical, or causes humilation. Do we need to make fun of people to be funny?

What's the story?

What's the story?
For 15 years, the producers of AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS have been searching for hilarious videos made by everyday people. Viewers tune in to see home improvement projects turned into slapstick comedy, men doing flips onto and breaking pool tables, the dresses of women flapping in the breeze to reveal their scanty underwear, and every possible way a man can get hit in the groin. It's taped with a studio audience that is frequently shown in the throes of belly laughs, and who then vote on that episode's funniest video. Emmy Award-winning host Tom Bergeron gives annoying one-liners as he introduces the genre of videos coming up, such as pets, home repairs, holiday antics, challenges at the altar, etc.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Adolescents will no doubt find many of these videos to be humorous, but do you want your kid watching a blindfolded groom tricked into inappropriately touching a grandmotherly guest at his wedding or an overweight woman stuck in a pit with no one helping her to get out? Often the humor is at the expense of children and their innocent, developmentally normal behavior that has yet to be tainted by self-consciousness. This show teaches kids to laugh at others instead of finding their own creative ways to be funny.

Bottom line: Some families may find the show funny, and some won't -- you may want to tune in before you share with your kids.

TV themes & details

TV Details
TV Rating: TV-PG
Network: ABC
Cast: Bob Saget, Jess Harnell, Tom Bergeron
Genre: Reality TV
Where to watch: ABC

This review was written by Pam Gelman
 
 

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What parents & educators say

10

Most useful reviews by all members

CN_Fan
kid, 10 years old
 
Epic win!
I love this show, its really funny!

Dr.Pepsi
teen, 15 years old
 
America's Funniest Video is really funny!
This is the best tv show ever, the violence makes me laugh, plus it's not too violent for an example a little toddler smacks his dads head with a plastic baseball bat or 2 little brothers are fighting and one push his brother to the ground. Even though it's want the audiences to laugh

leftbehindcrazed8
teen, 14 years old
 
videos about sex and periods - be warned
My whole family very much enjoys this show, but parents be warned: there are very many sex-related videos. (although I think they're very funny :) ) For example, a little girl is reading a book entitled THE MAGIC OF SEX. Another video is at a wedding when a family of brothers is sharing their thoughts with the bride and groom. When it comes time for the 6-year-old to say something to them, he says "I hope you have sex!!" There are some other videos including things according to a woman's period. I would say it's clean other then what I just mentioned.

Chrihddjason
kid, 12 years old
 
for any age

tjs238
teen, 14 years old
 
AFV ROCKS
If you want to see someone fall down and go boom this is the show showing all the funniest clips in america.No matter what anyone,anyone says ill always watch afv

rose56967
kid, 12 years old
 
Funny
This show is perfectly fine. It can be really funny too. There can be some 'iffy' stuff, but it's never shown. I think it is perfectly fine.

Total Drama Girl
kid, 12 years old
 
They Try Too Hard to Be Funny
AFV is funny, but it shows many inappropriate things. To start, there is too much violence. For example, many animals, young children, and babies get hurt. Also, there are many suggestive themes in the show. For example, one video featured a line of men in kilts with a bride in the middle of the line ready to take a picture. At the time of the flash, the men turned around and lifted their kilts up! Wedding bells censored it! Also, there is obvious cussing. It is censored, but when Tom cusses it is not censored. Also, Tom mocks other's misfortunes by calling them "nincompoop," " dummy," "doofus," etc. Next,some videos are drinking-related. For example, kegs are often being shown opened and spewing everywhere. There is one negative message: watch someone else's misfortunes and laugh at them. The people on the show are not good role models. This is a very funny show, but sometimes it tries too hard to be funny. This is what I think about the show AFV.

 
Best family show ever!
Great family show for laughs and fun. I can remember always waiting for this to be on when I was little, was one of my favorite shows. Most "violence" is comedic and in good nature, nudity is obviously blocked. This is what our family would always watch (and still do sometimes) during dinner and lunch!

 
Now Let's review this
Rating:TV-PG M(IFFY)The show is played just for laughs V(IFFY)Lots of comedimic Pratfalls S(IFFY)Nudity is censored with a black censor bar L(IFFY)Language is bleeped out. Now Parents, I know what you're thinking. This show should be TV-MA because of nude,Right.Wrong. This is a Family show and that's why it's TV-PG.

undergurl
kid, 12 years old
 
I love this show an di am watchign it righ tnow actually! I started to watch the show when I was about umm 7 I guess I can't remember but I did like it.

kpnna
kid, 12 years old
 
Violence is an issue.
Most videos are funny and make you laugh, such as a boy stops crying once an adult leaves, then follows them, and then keeps crying once he reaches the adult. Others are not so funny, as a man skiing falls from a high height and is injured. You will often find videos that aren't good for kids, so make sure you watch it with kids 11 and under, and be prepared to change the channel at the first sign of something inappropriate.

Cliff Hanger
teen, 14 years old
 
Eh...
Its okay. Funny at times but sometimes its just plain wrong.

Film Friend
kid, 12 years old
 
I got a DVD of it
It's funny and I like the voice that talks while the movie is going. Tom Bergeron makes me bored though.

eelee
parent of 12 year old
 
Great show for (almost) all ages.
Really funny and cool show. The role models can be negative, as younger kikds may be inspired to do the funny stuff on there. Overall, if you understand this isn't people PURPOSELY (usually) trying to hurt each other, this is a fun show to watch.

mommajo4
parent
 
Emotional child abuse
Very degrading, especially one where a happy toddler was the butt of a joke having to do with the pronunciation of the planet Uranus, and when the family was awarded the top prize, she sat on her mother's lap with the saddest face I have ever seen. Where is the prize in crushing a child's spirit?

csbfairy
kid, 9 years old
 

tyman5125
teen, 13 years old
 
funny but baby's always win top 3
like it.funny.but any time there is a baby video in the top 3 the baby always wins.

 
Are gladiators next?
On AFV, I just switched channels and saw a man getting hit solidly in the forehead by a woman swinging a baseball bat as hard as she could. The man fell to the ground and was out cold. No one watching the show ever knows if he died or ever recovered from this horrendous accident. Are we, as viewers so jaded and insensitive that watching people get seriously hurt is now considered entertainment? I have enjoyed the funny clips, but strongly object to the ones where people get seriously hurt.

CN_Fan63
kid, 10 years old
 
My favorite show.

 
You idiots! This is not slapstick!
Imagine a TV show that aired Quasi-Snuff-films for an hour. Horrifying, right? "Yes" you say, with a gasp. Yet somehow, you people keep this crapola on the air. What's so comedic about people getting mortally injured? Well? Well? Exactly. What if you, or even better, your small infant child, were in a serious accident that could have killed them? Now pretend someone video taped them. It appears on TV now, a little child falling out of a three-story window, onto concrete? Hilarious stuff, right? Wrong. This show should be taken off the air. "Free speech!" You yell ignorantly. Wrong. The First Amendment was not intended as a right to broadcast pornography or snuff films. It was intended for making political speeches without your neck becoming intimately familiar with a noose.

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About our rating system
ON: Content is 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