Rocketman | 2019 | R | – 7.4.7

Why is “Rocketman” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language throughout, some drug use and sexual content.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes many scenes of scantily clad men and women, and several sex scenes including an orgy dream sequence; many arguments ending in things being thrown, a punch in the face resulting in a bruise and a song inciting bar and street fights with no visible injuries; and many scenes of drinking to excess and drug use, and over 20 F-words. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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The story of the rise of Reginald Kenneth Dwight (Taron Egerton), known more broadly as pop music singer-songwriter Elton John: the film traces his struggles with alcohol, drugs, sexuality and the lack of true love. Also with Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Steven Mackintosh, Matthew Illesley, Kit Connor, Charlie Rowe and Tom Bennett. Directed by Dexter Fletcher. [Running Time: 2:01]

Rocketman SEX/NUDITY 7

 – An orgy scene shows men and women writhing on a floor kissing and caressing and thrusting as a shirtless man is past across them like crowd surfing; the scene is interspersed with quick glimpses of men kissing and the shirtless man wakes up in a start wearing bikini underwear (his bare chest, abdomen and legs are seen). A man and another shirtless man kiss in a room (we see the man’s bare chest, abdomen and back), they sit on a bed, they lie on the bed and unfasten their pants, and they have sex (we see one man’s bare back, buttock and legs with the other man’s legs wrapped around him). A man seated on a sofa is seen from the back as another man stands up from his knees in front of him (he was performing oral sex; we don’t see any nudity).
► A woman takes a man to a tent-like set up with pillows inside and they kiss, he removes his shirt (a T-shirt is seen under it) and sex is implied. Several men and women dance in a club with thrusting gestures and they are seen wearing skimpy outfits that reveal bare chests, cleavage and abdomens; two men kiss a seated man and a third man is seen with his head at the man’s crotch (he is clothed). Two men go into a closet and kiss passionately. A man kisses another man and he seems shocked. A young teen boy finds his mother in a car with a man lying on top of her as they kiss and she moans and giggles (they are both clothed). A man moves toward another man as if to kiss him and the second man pulls away saying, “I love you but not that way.” A man moves close to another man and touches his jacket in a flirtatious manner. A man touches another man’s face tenderly.
► A man talks to another man about their sleeping arrangements hurting his career and that they should get him a girlfriend. A pre-teen boy winks at his piano teacher while he plays and practices moving like Elvis Presley. A man tells a group of people that another man is a homosexual and the other man says, “No, I have a girlfriend” before saying, “I don’t know.” A man worries about breaking his girlfriend’s heart by telling her that he is gay. A man tells his mother that he is gay and she says that she has known and that he should be aware that he will never be loved properly. A man tells his mother about all the sexual partners he’s had. A woman refers to Elvis Presley as a “dish.” A man admits to being a sex addict. A boy looks at a magazine of dresses and his father tells him to stop looking at it, saying, “You’re not a girl.” A song refers to not being able to love.
► A man kisses another man on the cheek. Women in an audience at a club crowd onto the stage while a man sings. A man and woman are married and they sleep in separate rooms.
► Women wearing outfits that reveal cleavage, bare abdomens, backs and legs dance in a crowd with men at a party. Several women backstage are shown wearing costumes that reveal legs to the lower buttocks. A man is held in the air by several people and they undress him to his boxer briefs (we see his bare chest, abdomen, back and legs), and then dress him in a costume to go onstage. Several women wear very short dresses that reveal cleavage and legs with stocking tops exposed at the upper thighs during a musical number. A woman wears a bikini top and a short skirt with fringe at the hem that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen and bare legs to the upper thighs. Several women wear short skirts that reveal legs (some covered by stockings and others bare). A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage and bare back and shoulders in several scenes. A woman wears a night gown with a sheer cover/robe (cleavage and bare arms are seen). Women wear tight-fitting dresses while singing on stage (cleavage and bare shoulders are seen). A man wears briefs and a short robe that hangs open in several scenes (his bare chest, abdomen and upper thighs are seen). A man wears his shirt open to reveal partial chest and abdomen. Men and women are shown wearing swimsuits that reveal cleavage, bare chests, abdomens and legs at a pool party. Men and women wearing swimsuits dance on a beach (cleavage, bare abdomens, backs and legs to the hips are seen).

Rocketman VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 - A man shoves another man and the other man punches him in the face (we see a scrape and bruise later). A man takes a handful of capsules and washes them down with alcohol from a bottle before telling a crowd of people that he is going to kill himself and he walks off a diving board and sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool; he is pulled out of the water and taken away to a hospital where we see his stomach pumped (we see liquid and matter floating in a bag). A man snorts a large amount of cocaine, grabs his chest, stumbles and falls down a flight of stairs and we hear that he has had a heart attack.
► A pre-teen boy sings lyrics about "Saturday night's alright for fighting," and several people start fighting with a few punches landing, a man is thrown out of the pub and into the street, and a chair is thrown through a window and people on the street fight (no blood or injuries are seen). A man imagines blasting off a stage like a rocket. A man throws something that shatters while yelling at a man to leave his house.
► A woman tells her adult son that she should never have had children and that it is a horrible thing to be his mother. A woman yells at a man, calls him names and throws his belongings out of an apartment. A man yells and throws a chair in a group session when remembering his father. Two men knock over garbage cans on a sidewalk and in front of an apartment building until a woman comes out yelling at them to be quiet. A man locks himself in a bathroom stall when he is nervous about performing and another man yells at him. A man yells at another man in a street.
► A woman yells at her son and says that she has thrown his dinner "in the bin." A husband and his wife argue in a few scenes and the man leaves in one scene (we hear they divorced). A man returns home on leave from military service and he and his wife seem cold toward each other. A man treats his young son in a dismissive manner and when the boy asks when he is going to hug him the man replies, "Don't be soft." A teen boy says, "I wish I was someone else." A man tells his mother that he is gay and she says that she has known and that he should be aware that he will never be loved properly. A man tells another man to get cleaned up because he stinks. A man says, "I hated myself."
► A man wakes up in a start and asks, "Where am I?" A man enters a room and says, "I'm so drunk," and then holds up car keys (we do not see him driving). A man tells another man that he thinks they should take some a break from drinking after waking up and not knowing where he was. A man admits to being an alcoholic, a cocaine addict, a bulimic, a shopaholic and to having anger management issues. A boy sings a song with lyrics referring to his "raising Cain," along with nearly 40 mild obscenities repeated by a dancing crowd of people. We read that a man has been sober for 28 years.
► We see the World Trade Center Towers in the background of a scene. A man wears a costume that has horns and large wings in several scenes.
► A man vomits in a toilet and we hear splatter and gagging but do not see anything. A man urinates in a bottle (we see urine filling the clear bottle and hear the trickle with no flesh shown). A man's nose bleeds on a white cloth (implied from cocaine use).

Rocketman LANGUAGE 7

 - About 23 F-words, 1 sexual reference, 12 scatological terms, 9 anatomical terms, 47 mild obscenities (nearly 40 are repeated in a song's lyrics), 5 derogatory terms for homosexuals, name-calling (unreliable, predictable, miserable bastard, silly, frigid, insane, selfish, shy, heartless monster, skinny Black kid, fat white kid, idiot, tiger, beast, old tramps, hot chicks, bummer, coked-out, self-indulgent, rubbish), exclamations (bloody, don't get your knickers in a twist, shut-up), 6 religious exclamations (e.g. My God, Oh God, Holy Moses, Believe In The Lord, Jesus, Oh For God's Sake). | profanity glossary |

Rocketman SUBSTANCE USE

 - A man snorts cocaine in several scenes, a woman takes a pill (it's not clear what it is), a man tells another man not to kill himself with drugs, people at a party smoke (likely marijuana) from a bong, a man snorts cocaine and drinks cognac, a man drinks from a bottle of liquor and takes a handful of capsules (it's not clear what they are but it seems to be an attempted suicide), a man talks about all the drugs he's done, and a man at a party rolls a cigarette (it's not clear if it is marijuana or tobacco). A woman holds a cocktail glass with alcohol and a cherry in it, people in a pub drink beer and smoke cigarettes, several men pour and drink from glasses of champagne in an office, people in a club drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, a pub scene shows several people drinking beer, a man guzzles a large glass of vodka and orange juice with his breakfast, a man drinks a short glass of whiskey, two men drink champagne at a restaurant, a man drinks whisky from a bottle, and people drink beer and wine at a party. People in an AA meeting smoke cigarettes, a man smokes a cigar in several scenes, a man smokes a pipe in his home, a woman smokes a cigarette at a dinner table and puts it out in her plate with food on it, and a man smokes in a sound booth.

Rocketman DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Rock and Roll, the music business, drug and alcohol use and addiction, Liberace, Elvis Presley, family, love, lack of loving relationships, success, greed, divorce, homosexuality, shame, fame and fortune, jealousy, HIV/AIDS.

Rocketman MESSAGE

 - Elton John is a talented artist with a tumultuous life of dealing with fame, addiction and finding love.