Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that with so much air time given to worshipping the gadgets and wonders of being super rich, the rest of the movie gets lost under the sheer weight of it all. Richie is a kid who doesn't have any normal friends (his school friends are freakishly precocious in cultivating their inner Donald Trumps). So his butler gets the "townie" kids to come over, and Richie blows them away by sharing his toys (a kid catapult, a roller coaster, an in-home McDonald's).
Sexual
Content
When Claudia Schiffer performs an aerobic workout in a skin-tight leotard, Richie and Cadbury take in the view of her behind, making moony faces. A couple of adult innuendos, including Mrs. Rich telling Mr. Rich that not only does she love him for his billions of dollars, but she thinks he has a "cute butt."
Violence
There are pistols, machine guns, and lasers, which are used at close range. Though no one is killed, there are many perilous scenes, including a plane crash where the victims land safely in the water and a scene where a group of kids are about to be destroyed by a molecular reconstruction machine. Some hair-raising moments with characters hanging from a cliff.
Language
For the target age, it's a bit explicit: "s--t," "hell," "fart," and "crap."
Social
Behavior
Mired in the depts of all of the product placement is the message that the Rich family values the things that are sentimental in value, rather than those silly material things that they spend so much time and effort accruing. Cute and maybe a little endearing, but confusing.
Consumerism
Lets the viewer know exactly which kind of everything a Rich kid should have. Richie has a McDonald's in his house, wowing his friends, who pig out on burgers and shakes. Other brands mentioned and shown include: Twinkies, Reese's candy bars (particularly the Nutrageous bar that Richie holds up in a business meeting), Bubblicious ("Richie's favorite gum," says his mom), Radio Shack, Oil of Olay, the New York Yankees, Money magazine, People magazine, Chanel, Bill Blass, Rolls Royce, Karl Lagerfeld, and more.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
The Rich parents drink champagne on their lifeboat, getting a little tipsy. Van Dough smokes a cigar and celebrates his evil scheme with a glass of champagne.
