Mostly light-hearted jeopardy and action including extended sequence on runaway stagecoach; barroom brawls; man prepped for hanging with snakes hissing at his feet; explosion during a bank robbery; fight on the edge of a cliff; casino shoot-out. Some deaths occur during gunplay, but there's no blood and none of the scenes focus on bodies or injuries.
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A few passionate kisses culminating in a scene played for humor in which there's suggested off-camera sexual activity; we see a bare male chest along with bare female shoulders. Some sexual innuendo, including one reference to penis size that should go over the heads of most kids.
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The leading female character is portrayed as independent, capable, and smart, though often dishonest. The heroes are con artists, bluffers, and rogues, though good men, honest, and loyal at heart.
Positive Messages
very little
Most bad behavior is punished. The movie makes fun of the usual caricatures and heavy-handed treatment of Native Americans in other Westerns. Cleverness and smarts are shown to defeat brute strength, greed, and destructive behavior. Some con artists are treated as jovial and benign, conning only those who are looking for an edge and not always honest themselves.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this movie's sole purpose is to be entertaining. It's filled with old-time Western action, but it's played for fun here. There are lots of fistfights, shootings, steely-eyed bad guys, coiled hissing snakes, and even a literal "cliffhanger" (one character hangs over a steep gorge for what seems like forever). Occasionally someone dies, but the object here is to keep real violence to a minimum and overstate the battles for humorous effect. There are sexual innuendos, some passionate kissing, a bare chest (male) and a bare shoulder (female), and some cigar smoking. The Native Americans wear war paint, howl, and shake their fists at the sky, but it's delivered to parody the stereotypes that show up in other Westerns. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
This movie is absolutely brilliant, all families will love and enjoy! Innuendos are little to none.
There is a very brief kissing scene, but both characters are clothed for the duration of the shot, which is only 2-3 seconds long. I have four kids, two know about sex, the others not, but didn't really suspect anything. Myself nor my husband didn't either. This scene was pretty innocent, kids wouldn't think anything else than kissing, and it isn't even shown, just alluded from another room, covered cleverly and comically by furniture.
A scene where a women puts on a towel, only her bare shoulders are shown from the back. A similar one where 2 men change their clothes, only the tops of their chest are shown. The only other innuendo is in that scene, a women makes a joke about two men's "size". Kids would not get this joke, as it alludes to muscles, rather than genital size.
All of the violence was mild shooting slapstick, the swearing infrequent and is less strong than most "action" or "superhero" films today. Lots of jokes making fun of racist stereotypes, like a milder version of Blazing Saddles.
Great story, likeable role-model characters, and great twists.
All in all, you or your kids won't regret watching this!
This is an awesome film with lots of good action and humor. It it a little too long and the last fifteen minutes or so could have been cut, but still a good film. The violence isn't the biggest issue here since it is bloodless and scarcely anyone gets killed in the film's entire length (those that do die in bloodless old western style). However, the language and sexual content in this film are just too strong for me to give this film a pass. There is a sexual interlude between Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster that (although no nudity is visible) is just plain inappropriate. There are also some fairly lewd innuendos. Cursing is not terribly frequent and never enters PG-13 territory, but it's still there and I had a hard time getting around it. There are much worse films out there, but there are much better films out there too. A good comparison for this film in terms of content would be a less violent Indiana Jones.
What's the Story?
Bret Maverick, a very popular television character from the 1950s and 1960s, is brought to life again by Mel Gibson in this comic adventure made decades later. Maverick is a consummate gambler, a world-class romantic hero, and a natural born master of the one-liner. He's on his way to a high-stakes poker tournament where he hopes to win the big money and cement his reputation as the best poker player on the continent. Still $3000 short of the entrance fee, he's hoping to collect some outstanding debts and enjoy the journey. Instead, he encounters two rivals for the poker title (including the elegant and unscrupulous Annabelle Bransford, played by Jodie Foster), a mysterious lawman (James Garner, who was the original TV Maverick), and various baddies (including Alfred Molina and James Coburn) who seem hell-bent on his not finishing the trip. After a series of hair-raising adventures and near-death experiences, Maverick arrives on the paddle-steamer where the tournament is to be held, only to be met by even more danger and duplicity.
An amusing script by William Goldman, slick direction, and charming (if not to be taken seriously) performances by the principals provide some fun, thrills, and clever plot twists. The filmmakers pay homage to the Western genre by using a number of classic Western character actors to good advantage in some of the smaller roles. And the scenes with Graham Greene and his band of Native American warriors are the funniest and most thought-provoking. At over two hours, however, there aren't quite enough laughs, inspired adventures, or mind-bending story elements to put it in a class with the great caper films.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how this movie is a different type of Western. What are some of the things that show us that this isn't an actual portrayal of the Old West, but a humorous and fond look backwards?
What does the movie say about appearance versus reality? Which people pretend to be one thing but are really something else? Which people have surprising secrets?
What do you think the filmmakers are hoping you'll understand about movie stereotyping?
MPAA explanation:
mild sensuality, language, and some western action
Last updated:
June 21, 2023
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