Parents' Guide to

The Color of Money

By Heather Boerner, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

A gamble that teens will get this adult's movie.

Movie R 1986 119 minutes
The Color of Money Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 3 parent reviews

melissaelvis
melissaelvis Parent of 12-year-old
April 2, 2021
age 15+

The absolute worst movie in the world

If you want to watch this movie, be ready to puke. It is more boring than watching paint dry. It has lots of swearing and some brief nudity. If you like boring movies, this we’ll be your favorite thing in the world.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
EliteMovieCritic
EliteMovieCritic Adult
March 30, 2020
age 18+

It’s rated R and is obviously unwholesome

It’s anxiously for 18 plus audiences And is not only a cliffhanger of no expectation, but a serious waste of viewing time And another question is why does the review on here say 9 years old plus and 14 years old plus ?? It’s rated R It’s obviously not okay for anyone under 18 to see it! Let alone a 15 or 10 year old
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Fast Eddie (Paul Newman) is a liquor distributor with a loving woman and a nice car, but he sees something in brash, cocky young pool hot shot Vincent (Tom Cruise). He takes Vincent and girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) on the road to prepare him to shark his way through the 9-ball championship in Atlantic City. Along the way, childish Vincent must learn to reign in his "look at me!" cockiness and Eddie realizes that he still has the itch to play the game. But can he come back? While the title of THE COLOR OF MONEY seems to be about getting rich, the film is really aging pool shark Fast Eddie Felson reckoning with the life he's lived and the decisions he's made. Eddie has to decide whether the line he's been giving hot shot Vincent is true: "We're talking around things here: It ain't about pool. It ain't about sex. It ain't about love. It's about money. The best is the guy with the most."

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (2):

What's stunning about the film is the complexity Newman lends Eddie; he's likable and charming, even when he's being all Machiavellian. If any other actor were playing Eddie, he would have come across as a snake. Instead, the viewer ends up rooting for him and wishing him well. That's no small feat for a character and a film that seems on the surface to be about "greed is good" morality.

Because The Color of Money is really about a man coming to terms with his life, the true drama of the film will probably be lost on teens and younger viewers. They may, however, still enjoy the machismo involved in playing high-stakes pool.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether manipulating for money is ever a good idea. If you have a talent, should you exploit it or simply try to be the best you can be? Is it true, as Eddie says, that "the best is the guy with the most"? What are your values and how would you handle someone offering to make you rich?

Movie Details

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