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Parents' Guide to

Foul Play

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Farcical '70s comedy-mystery hybrid has violence, profanity.

Movie PG 1978 116 minutes
Foul Play Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 11+

Loved this as a kid

I saw this movie when I first saw it, around age 10, and LOVED it. There is a romantic scene (w/kissing) that some kids may not enjoy but any violence is bloodless and pretty tame by today's standards. It's gripping/thrilling for middle schoolers without being too scary.
age 15+

Uneven, yet amusing. Older teens and up.

I found "Foul Play" to be an overall good film. It features an interesting murder mystery, and I liked Goldie Hawn in this film. Although, I thought the film had too many awkward attempts at humor to really be something more, not to mention the romance feels rushed and forced. Nevertheless, it is still entertaining. The one scene I would advise parents to be careful with is an attempted seduction scene where a man tries to impress a woman with all the sexual objects and suggestive figures he has in his apartment (it was the most awkward scene for me in the film). There is some kissing, and one other scene where a couple wakes up in bed (though no nudity). There is occasional violence (some nongraphic shootings with little to no blood, a man falling out a window, and some fisticuffs) and foul language (language is at most PG-13 by today's standards, but there's one comical scene involving the f-word on a scrabble board). I don't think the movie's great, but I think it's worth watching. Just only with mature and older teens because of the inappropriate material present. 7.0/10

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

In this purposefully Hitchcock-light comic-mystery, there are enough laughs and outrageous characters to compensate for its silly plot, outlandishly inept villains, and predictable romance. Both Chevy Chase and Dudley Moore had their first major motion picture roles in Foul Play, and in the case of Moore, it was a breakout performance. Over the decades, "Stanley Tibbets" (Moore) remains a vivid example of hilarious, vanity-free acting. Hawn, too, is at the height of her adorable, ingenuous sincerity. Writer-director Colin Higgins gleefully celebrates Alfred Hitchcock, borrowing music, plot elements, and suspenseful set pieces directly from the master. Seen again, decades after its theatrical release, it's an uneven film but with enough memorable and original material to remind fans why they liked it so much the first time around. Fine for teens, even mature tweens, but the graphic violence, even though much of it is meant as humor, makes it inappropriate for most kids.

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