Breaking Away

Name: Breaking Away
Released: 1979-7-1
Cast: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie

Breaking Away

PG
1h 41m
1979

95%

age 12+

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In this heartwarming film, a blue-collar teenager who’s tired of the snubs he gets from local college kids models himself after the members of an Italian bicycle racing team he idolizes. He dresses like them, rides like them, and tries to sound like them. But when the riders come to town and show their true colors, he realizes he has something they – and the mean college students lack – integrity.

Director:

Peter Yates

Producer:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich

Cast:

Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Robyn Douglass

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

95%

Critics Consensus: At once a touching, funny coming-of-age story and a compelling sports film, Breaking Away is a delightful treat.

Reviews

Gone With The Twins

Mike Massie

It manages to be pleasant and upbeat, even as it focuses on the pessimism of uncertain futures and the stresses of small town tedium.

A textbook definition of a sleeper hit.

Rousing bicycle race story is a family favorite.

Breaking Away embraces the good old fashioned small town family values that would catapult Ronald Reagan to an enormously popular two term presidency. And still, I like it.

The triumphant ending teeters on twee, but feels warranted enough to give it a pass and enjoy the moment right along with him.

June 22, 2017

FULL REVIEW

Common Sense Media

age 12+

Common Sense Says

Rousing bicycle-race tale has some profanity, mild violence.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this tale of redemption offers a lot in the way of scary, tense, and violent scenes. Although no one gets critically injured, there's lots of fighting. Some kids also may want to imitate the dangerous things characters do in this film: Dave doesn't wear a bike helmet, use a bicycle headlight at night, or wear reflective clothing, and he races in front of cars on a red light. During a bicycle race, a cyclist puts a bike pump in the spokes of Dave's wheel, causing him to crash. Dave races while injured. There's lots of punching and kicking; some blood is seen, but no one is seriously injured. Characters drive around a college campus and discuss women's breasts. Several swear words are used, including "s--t," "hell," "t-ts," "goddamn," "bastards," "son of a bitch," and "damnit." Characters also call others "retard," "p---y cop," and "s--thead."