Parents' Guide to And the Breadwinner Is...

Movie NR 2025 123 minutes
And the Breadwinner Is movie poster: Bambi holds a large tray of bread and is surrounded by family and friends with a golden light shining behind.

Common Sense Media Review

Andrea Beach By Andrea Beach , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Family comedy-drama with violence, diverse representations.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

  • And the Breadwinner Is: Bambi and Buneng gaze upward smiling while Baby smilingly embraces Bambi's shoulders from behind.
  • And the Breadwinner Is: Bambi photographs Baby in a baby costume holding a tray of bread while Buneng and Boy look on and all are laughing.
  • And the Breadwinner Is: Bambi stands in front of a blurred urban backdrop wearing a blue polo shirt and a floral-print, blue headband.

Parent and Kid Reviews

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What's the Story?

AND THE BREADWINNER IS... Bambi Salvador (Vice Ganda), who's been working hard overseas to provide for her family after the death of her father, Popsy (Joel Torre). When she has finally sent enough money to make the needed repairs and renovations to the family home, she returns only to find that her siblings have not only squandered everything she sent, but also mortgaged the house to a local thug whose demands for payment are getting more and more aggressive. Bambi has a life insurance policy for enough to solve all their financial problems, so she reluctantly agrees to fake her own death in order to get the money. Can the Salvador family outwit the insurance fraud investigator, save the house, and maybe save themselves, too?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This part-comedy, part-drama family saga has its heart in the right place but unfortunately loses its footing when it suddenly becomes a very different type of movie than how it started. The first three-fourths or so is a very broad and kind of uneven slapstick comedy. The jokes and gags are sometimes too easy to really land. Then toward the last half-hour or so it shifts hard into a very serious drama in a big confrontation scene where Bambi finally just lets all her emotions out. The large cast is very effective here, and especially Ganda as Bambi, but the sudden shift in tone is unsettling.

And at the very end, it shifts yet again into a weepy—spoiler alert—terminal-illness movie. There are things to enjoy along the way. Ganda's fans will enjoy seeing some familiar characters make brief appearances in the form of Bambi's disguises. It's refreshing to see gay characters seamlessly integrated into everyday life. Unfortunately, these elements just don't come together easily.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how And the Breadwinner Is... portrays being gay. Is it realistic? Are there stereotypes?

  • How does Bambi model perseverance when she's working in Taiwan? Was it ultimately worth it given what happened to the family?

  • Why is it important to see diverse representations in movies and other media? What do we learn from seeing people who are different from ourselves? How do we feel when we see ourselves represented in the media?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

And the Breadwinner Is movie poster: Bambi holds a large tray of bread and is surrounded by family and friends with a golden light shining behind.

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