Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Rap artist Marshall "Eminem" Mathers makes his acting debut in this autobiographical drama set against the
1995 hip-hop scene in Detroit. He stars as a trailer park kid whose ambition is to become a great rap artist, while dealing with his
unemployed mother (Kim Basinger), an ex-girlfriend who may or may not be pregnant (Taryn Manning), and a current one who wants to escape
their surroundings as much as he does. Also with Mekhi Phifer and Eugene Byrd. [1:58]
SEX/NUDITY 6 - A man and a woman kiss passionately, caress each other, he opens her dress and we see her bra, panties and
stockings; he drops his pants and we see his leg, she hikes her leg up to his waist and they begin to thrust and moan until they both
appear to climax. A man and woman having sex in an office (they're partially clothed) are interrupted; we see them thrusting briefly. We
see a nude woman (bare back and buttocks) from the back, seated on a man's lap and bobbing up and down (we also hear them both moaning).
Men and women dance suggestively, men and women kiss and caress each other, and men and women flirt. A man pulls down his pants and we
see his bare buttocks. A woman talks to her son about her sex life. A man admires a woman as she walks up stairs in a short skirt. A woman
wears tight, short skirts and tight sweaters that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen and fishnet stocking-covered thighs. A younger man is
having a sexual relationship with an older woman. A man talks about his girlfriend being pregnant.
VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - A man puts a gun in his pants and accidentally shoots himself in the leg (we see a little blood on his
pantleg and then a lot of blood on his clothes and the hands of two other men who are with him). A group of men surround and threaten
another man, and one man threatens him by holding a gun to his face; they begin punching, kicking and shoving him over and over again,
while a little girl watches from a nearby window and screams in terror (we see the man bloody and bruised later). A group of men fight
another group of men with punching and shoving, some are slammed to the ground and one fires a gun in the air and waves it around. A man
pulls a man's legs out from under him and he falls down onto the hood of a car, some other people shove and scuffle and a man pulls a gun.
A man attacks another man slamming him into a table and wall, and punching him in the face repeatedly (we see the man's bloody nose). A
man and a woman argue, he shoves her back into a table, another man jumps him and they fight with punches, slamming into furniture and the
floor. A man shoves another man and gets very close to his face while yelling at him. A group of men pour gasoline on an abandoned house,
then one lights a book of matches and sets it ablaze; the men in the house scatter trying to get out before they are consumed (one jumps
from a rooftop onto the roof of a car). Two men shove each other in a few scenes. A man throws a beer bottle at a man, it nearly hits him
in the head, then the two men yell and shove each other. There are a couple of conversations about a young girl having been raped by a
drug dealer in an abandoned building. During the rap "battles" (there are a few of these scenes), the contestants hurl verbal insults and
threats at each other. A crowd boos and heckles a man off a stage. Two men yell at each other. Men shoot paint balls at a cow statue, a
wall (nearly hitting two men) and at a police car. A man vomits in a bathroom; we hear gagging and see some spittle on his mouth (people
make references to his "hurling on his shirt" later).
the review continues below...
PROFANITY 10 - About 191 F-words and its derivatives (some in rap song lyrics), 9 obscene hand gestures (one scene has an
entire crowd at a club using obscene hand gestures), 9 sexual references, 92 scatological terms, 29 anatomical terms, 15 mild obscenities,
12 derogatory terms for African-Americans, 22 derogatory terms for women, 4 derogatory terms for homosexuals, 3 religious exclamations, 5
religious profanities. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Rap music and artists, aspirations, betrayal, friendship, family, respect, failure.
MESSAGE - Extreme circumstances can force us to do what we know we can do, but may be afraid to try.
(Note: People are shown smoking tobacco and marijuana and drinking alcohol. Two characters appear to have a drinking problem and
one is shown falling down and stumbling while drunk.)
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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