Gully | 2019 | R | – 6.7.10

Why is “Gully” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “strong violence, a sexual assault, sexual content, pervasive language, and drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes oral sexual assault by a man on a young man and oral sex between a young woman and a young man (both below the frame), sex in a car, several deaths by gunshot with bloody wounds shown, a few beatings with bloody wounds shown and a kidnapping, and nearly 140 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Three young men (Charlie Plummer, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Jacob Latimore) living in LA struggle with everyday life and try to stay out of trouble, until they reach their breaking point and their lives are changed forever. Also with Amber Heard, Robin Givens, John Corbett, Terrence Howard, Jonathan Majors, Erica Peeples and DeRay Davis. Directed by Nabil Elderkin. [Running Time: 1:21]

Gully SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man seated on a sofa next to a young man caresses the young man’s head and pushes him down toward his crotch behind a table; the man’s bare chest and abdomen are seen through his unbuttoned shirt, and it is implied that the young man is performing oral sex on the man. We hear moaning in a car and rhythmic movement as a young woman straddles a young man in the backseat (they are interrupted by another young man that complains about seeing the first young man’s genitals). Two young women and a young man join three other young men at a club and we see them each taking pills and drinking; they sit together in the club and one young woman dances around a pole while another removes a young man’s shirt and performs oral sex on him, as another young woman thrusts on the laps of two young men.
► A woman yells at a young woman and complains about her having had sex with a young man that she does not approve of, and that she is now pregnant by him.
► A young man lies on the floor of his room wearing boxer shorts (we see his bare chest, abdomen and legs). A shirtless man is shown in a few scenes (we see his bare chest, abdomen and back). A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage and the top of her bra. A woman wears a camisole top that reveals cleavage. A woman wears shorts and a tank top that reveal cleavage and bare legs to the hips.

Gully VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – Two men shoot a young man several times, blood splatters and he falls off the roof of a car and onto the ground where he is shown dead and soaked in blood. Three young men break into a man’s house, punch him in the face (we see his bloody face), hit him with a baseball bat and hold a gun on two children and a woman in the house; one young man seems to be pushing a bottle into the man’s anus as the man winces and yells, one young man holds the woman on her back on the sofa (it is not clear if rape occurs), and one young man shoots the man (below the frame) before they leave the house and steal a car. Three young men attack two men on a sidewalk: one hits a man with a skateboard a few times, the others punch and kick them while they are on the ground and then steal their car and drive away (the attackers are shown with blood splattered on their faces and clothing). A man hits three other men with a baseball bat and we hear crunching as a woman yells and screams for him to stop; the man hits one of the men again while on the ground and we hear another crunch (we do not see the injuries incurred). We see several flashbacks to a man beating another man and the victim is shown with a very bloody face; it is not clear if the victim dies but we understand that the aggressor went to jail. Police helicopters are a constant presence hovering over a neighborhood. A young man approaches a man spray-painting a wall, he punches him, kicks him while he lies on the ground moaning and sprays paint in his face as he screams. Police order a man out of his car parked on the side of the street; the officer has his gun drawn as the man gets out of his car, asks what he has done and tells the officer that his young son is in the car; the officer shoots the man and we see him with a bloody wound as he falls against the window of the car and smears blood on it (his young son watches in terror).
► A young man opens a car door and another young man punches him in the face (we see him with a bloody nose later). A young man punches another young man and imagines that he burns to cinders like in a video game. A man grabs a young man by the throat and pushes him against a wall before storming out of the house. A woman yells at a young man and swings her slipper at him. A woman and a young man argue and she swings at him; he blocks her hand and she leaves the room.
► A woman leaves her young son alone in a laundromat briefly and the child is not there when she returns; the woman calls for the boy frantically and runs out trying to find him (we understand that the child was kidnapped by a man and never returned to his mother). Two young men throw bottles at another young man as he walks away (we hear them shatter but do not see blood or injuries). A young man holds his skateboard like a gun and pretends to shoot a police helicopter as it flies overhead. Three young men play video games, imagining themselves attacking and beating people on streets; they later talk about “taking the game outside.” Three young men throw DVDs off shelves in a shop while the cashier yells at them to leave. A young man makes the shape of a gun with his hand and puts it in his mouth. A young man skateboards into a street where his board is broken in half when cars drive over it (the young man is uninjured but devastated by the broken board and we see him burying it in the backyard). A young man is handcuffed and placed in a police car where a woman pounds on the window yelling at him. Several people cry when they are told about a young man being shot to death and the young man’s mother moans mournfully.
► A man witnesses a young man being sexually assaulted and becomes angry, yelling about the situation to the young man’s friends. A woman yells at a man when she sees him looking in a window of a man’s house. A man tells a woman, “Boys will be boys,” when she complains to him about his son making too much noise. A woman yells at her teenage son to get ready for school. A man tries to cash a check but is denied because of lack of identification; he explains that he is just out of prison and does not have ID, but they deny him and he leaves frustrated. A school official talks to a young man about his need to apply himself and the young man is dismissive. A man rants on street corners and sidewalks in several scenes (we understand that he is homeless).

Gully LANGUAGE 10

 – About 137 F-words and its derivatives, 2 obscene hand gestures, 54 scatological terms, 12 anatomical terms, 13 mild obscenities, 25 derogatory terms for African-American people, name-calling (cracker, white trash, crazy, special needs, dumb, white friend, devil, dude, little piggy), exclamations (oh my gosh), 5 religious profanities (GD), 7 religious exclamations (e.g. For God’s Sake, Jesus Christ, Where Is God, My God, Oh My God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Gully SUBSTANCE USE

 – Three young men take pills from a vial (we do not know what they are), and several people take pills before going to a club (it is not clear what the pills are). A man drinks from a bottle in a paper bag, three young men drink liquor from bottles in a man’s home, two women drink wine, a man and a woman drink beers, and three young men say they “need some drink” to bring the pills down. A young man smokes cigarettes in several scenes throughout the movie.

Gully DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Peace of mind, dreams, hope, kidnapping and child abuse, single parenting, hope, loyalty, family, death of parent, unplanned pregnancy, abortion.

Gully MESSAGE

 – Sometimes drastic measures are necessary to change the path of one’s life.