Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that, despite its R rating, Midwest working-class setting, and sexy vibe, Flashdance is largely a fairy tale, a glamorous wish-fulfillment pop fantasy for teen girls on what being an adult is like. There's a brief visit to a graphic, downscale nudie bar (with bare breasts and buttocks on display), strong language (including "c--t" and "f--k"), and drinking and smoking. You might point out to your teens that working at a strip club is not as glamorous as it appears to be here.
Sexual
Content
Characters dance in a provocative manner in a strip club throughout the film, but for most of the movie they remain clothed. Toward the end of the movie, one of the characters takes a job at a rival strip club and is shown dancing naked, with breasts and buttocks exposed. On a dinner date, a woman is shown raising her foot under the table to massage the groin area of the man she's on a date with. During a confession in church, the lead character talks about how she thinks about sex a lot.
Violence
Two male characters get into a fistfight, resulting in the broken nose of one of the characters. During a heated argument, a female character slaps a male character in the face repeatedly.
Language
Occasional profanity. In one instance, the antagonist calls women "c--ts." Various permutations of the F-word. "Ass," "s--t," "goddamn." An aspiring comedian sticks out his tongue and says that it's a "lesbian with a hard-on." This same comedian is fond of making "Polack" jokes.
Social
Behavior
The lead character, Alex, pursues her dream of attending a local conservatory and, despite her rigorous schedule of working as a welder by day and an exotic dancer at night, shows the importance of persistence and determination when pursuing a dream.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Characters smoke cigarettes and cigars. In bar and restaurant scenes, characters drink beer and wine.
