Bugsy Malone

I love this movie. It's an all kid cast probably averaging a cast age of about 13 years old. The writing is great, ALL of the songs are super catchy by 1970's - well known song writer/composer; Paul Williams. The kid cast all do a great job of acting (some more than others) and do a great job of pretending to be adults (Jodie Foster had a huge edge on the rest of the kids given her upbringing). Scott Baio does a fantastic job portraying a back street, opportunity seeking, slick talking, good hearted, street wise - wise guy. Other great and memorable characters include a chubby kid who plays Fat Sam, lanky Knuckles, Scott Baio's romantic pursuit; Blousey, and of course Tallulah played by Woman trapped in a kids body; Jodie Foster. All that being said, the entire movie is about these kids acting as adults would in gangster era New York or Chicago along with the vices, crime and violence - at leas all simulated. A lot of this movie consists of implied violence: The Splurge Gun - It shoots pastries, but the kids act scared of being shot and the ones that do seem to never to be seen again in the movie. Example, Fat Sam and his last remaining henchman; Knuckles, are testing their own version of a "Splurge Gun" when it explodes in Knuckles face and seemingly kills him. Fat sam cries unconscionably as Knuckles lays motionless on the ground, pastry splattered all over him simulating carnage. I can hear a little kid now upon seeing this scene ask his mom or dad... "is Knuckles dead mommy?". Yet, the end of the movie ends with a huge Splurge Gun and pie battle in where no one "dies", instead just get covered in pastry which leads to a happy ending sing along to "We could've been anything that we wanted to be". There is other violence such as Scott Baio's character being jumped and beat up by a group of bums in a dark alley and plenty of "pastry related deaths". Fat Sam owns a "bar" that simulates alcohol as being consumed there. There is a good amount of implied and apparent sexualization. Jodie Foster's character exudes a "woman of the world's" attitude even though she was about 13 when she did this movie. Scott Baio's character; Mugsy and his girlfriend Blousey are supposed to go away together to Hollywood... by themselves. The young chorus girls wear "short shorts" and heels, but they're not extremely sexualized. This will always be one of my favorite movies, but I would not really recommend this for kids to watch unless: they're over 10/11 years old and then only when you sit down with them to explain it to them first or watch with them to answer questions and explain that it was just meant to be make-believe. This movie should eventually make it to your movie library as it is a classic movie in my opinion.