Not suitable under 8; not recommended 8-13; parental guidance recommended 13-15 (Themes; Violence; Disturbing scenes; Sexual references; Coarse language)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to themes, violence, disturbing scenes, sexual references and coarse language |
Children aged 8 -13 | Not recommended due to themes, violence, sexual references and coarse language |
Children aged 13-15 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes and sexual references |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Spud |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes and sexual references |
Length: | 107 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The film Spud is set in South Africa in 1990 during the time of political change when Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison. Thirteen-year-old schoolboy John Milton (Troye Sivan) is cursed with parents who are a teenage boy’s worst nightmare. His father is a paranoid fervent anti-communist, while his mother manages to routinely embarrass him without trying. After winning a scholarship John escapes his nutty parents and commences his first year at an elite private boarding school.
John desperately wants to fit in with the other boys, who have given each other nicknames such as Rambo, Rain Man, Mad Dog, Fatty and Boggo. Unfortunately John is sexually underdeveloped and when this lack of sexual maturity is noticed by the other boys, he is ostracised and given the nickname “Spud”, a reference to his underdeveloped genitals.
Regardless of the ridicule Johnperseveres and develops a friendship with an accident prone misfit called Henry Barker (Jamie Royal) nicknamed Gecko. Johnalso forms a friendship with the school’s English teacher Mr Edly (John Cleese) nicknamed “the Gov”, who becomes a type of mentor.Slowly gaining acceptance,John becomes a lead player in the school’s production of Oliver Twist. He also finds himself romantically entwined with two girls, Debbie (Genna Blair) and Amanda (Charbi Dean Kriek) which adds to an already complex year.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
School bullying; alcohol abuse; serious illness and death
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in this movie including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under eight, including the following:
Spud’s father’s arm and upper body become engulfed in flames while he is attempting to light a barbecue. He jumps into the pool to extinguish the flames and is uninjured.
Gecko wakes up in the night with blood running out of his ears. A group of boys carry Gecko to the school hospital and hear that Gecko has cerebral malaria. Later, in an emotional scene, Spud is told that Gecko died in hospital and we see Spud emotionally upset and crying when he learns of Gecko’s fate. Later we seeGecko’s coffin being carried into the school chapel.
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the above mentioned scenes.
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the above mentioned scenes.
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Younger children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the above mentioned scenes.
None of concern
The film contains sexual references and innuendo scattered throughout. Examples include:
There is some nudity and low-level sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
Spud contains coarse language and name calling throughout. Examples include:
Spud is a coming of age comedy which is likely to entertain older adolescents and adults. There are scenes that may disturb younger viewers and parents may be concerned about the violence, particularly bullying, the sexual references and coarse language in the film.
The main message from this movie is that our greatest gift in life is freedom of choice.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
Parents may also wish to discuss the attitude to girls and women displayed by both the boys and their teachers.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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