Breaking Away

Name: Breaking Away
Item: Breaking Away
Rating: 4
Author: Heather Boerner

Movie review by

Heather Boerner, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 12+

(i)

Rousing bicycle-race tale has some profanity, mild violence.

PG
1979
100 minutes

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Parents say

age 11+

Based on 2 reviews

Kids say

age 10+

Based on 3 reviews

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Official trailer

Breaking Away

A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Positive Messages

The importance of being true to yourself and your background is shown through discussion and example throughout the movie.

Positive Role Models & Representations

After pretending to be Italian through much of the movie, Dave Stohler learns to accept and like his background as a "Cutter," aka a townie who has grown up in the college town of Bloomington, Ind. He also trains as hard as he can to be a winning bicyclist.

Violence

One of the main characters initiates a cafeteria-wide brawl after some college guys beat up one of his friends off-screen. Lots of punching and kicking. Some blood is seen, but no one is seriously injured. There also are some bike-related injuries: bruises, cuts, bleeding, and a near-miss with a car. During a swimming race, Mike hits his head on a rock and almost drowns. Katherine slaps Dave.

Sex

Dave and Katherine kiss once. Characters drive around a college campus and discuss women's breasts.

Language

Mild profanity on occasion: "s--t," "s--theads," "damn," "hell," "crap," "t-ts." Name-calling includes "retards" and "p---y cop." The father of an Italy-obsessed son refers to Italians as "eye-ties."

Consumerism

Characters drive past a Marlboro billboard; one of the characters points at it and salutes. Later in the movie, one of the characters points out an advertisement for Marlboro on the back cover of a magazine.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters smoke throughout the movie. Characters are shown drinking beer in a bowling alley but do not act intoxicated.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this tale of redemption offers a lot in the way of scary, tense, and violent scenes. Although no one gets critically injured, there's lots of fighting. Some kids also may want to imitate the dangerous things characters do in this film: Dave doesn't wear a bike helmet, use a bicycle headlight at night, or wear reflective clothing, and he races in front of cars on a red light. During a bicycle race, a cyclist puts a bike pump in the spokes of Dave's wheel, causing him to crash. Dave races while injured. There's lots of punching and kicking; some blood is seen, but no one is seriously injured. Characters drive around a college campus and discuss women's breasts. Several swear words are used, including "s--t," "hell," "t-ts," "goddamn," "bastards," "son of a bitch," and "damnit." Characters also call others "retard," "p---y cop," and "s--thead."

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User Reviews

Parents say
Kids say

Parent Written byKateW 1 May 22, 2020

age 10+

Aside from language this is a great movie for family to share

Breaking Away is a wonderful coming of age tale that charts the path of one young man in the thrall of a passion, and the choices he has to make to "break... Continue reading

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Adult Written bydvdgirl March 22, 2019

age 12+

i enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it . there is no sex or drugs maybe some language but other than that very enjoyable.

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Kid, 12 years old February 7, 2011

age 10+

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Teen, 14 years old Written byiheartchocolate198 November 5, 2009

age 10+

Love it!

I love this movie! My humanities teacher showed it to me, and I absolutely love it! I guess the fighting scene with Mike and Dave at the quarry is a bit intense... Continue reading

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What's the story?

Dave (Dennis Christopher) and his friends have just graduated from high school. While his buddies amuse themselves by swimming in the rock quarry, Dave has bigger plans. Having won a racing bicycle, Dave has dedicated his life to learning to race it. He reveres the top racers on the Italian team from Cinzano so much he speaks in a cheesy Italian accent, listens to Italian music, and irritates his former stone-cutter father by calling him "Papa" instead of "Dad." While Dave's Italian act woos college girl Katherine, his dedication to his new identity isn't enough to get him noticed by the Cinzano team. Disillusioned -- with snobby, bullying college kids there to rub it in -- he feels like he has a lot to prove to get the respect he deserves.

Is it any good?

There are some wonderfully realistic touches to BREAKING AWAY. Anyone who's spent any time with teens knows they try on new identities like new outfits. But it's rare to see a film that shows a teen so deeply in the thrall of his latest obsession -- without it becoming something sinister or dangerous. Similar to the fact that there's no gratuitous sex or nudity in the film, Dave's love of cycling is innocent and pure. He's a character you can root for who still seems real. It makes this cycling movie much more than a good sports movie -- though it's that, as well. It's no surprise that Breaking Away won the Oscar for Best Writing and was nominated for four more, including Best Director and Best Picture.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about why Dave felt the need to pretend to be someone he's not. Do you ever feel like doing that? When is that acceptable, and when could it be harmful?
What similarities and differences do you see between this film and other "coming-of-age" movies?
What are the differences between "Cutters" -- "townies" who grew up in the college town of Bloomington, Ind. -- and the college kids who live there to attend Indiana University?