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Madison | 2005 | PG | - 2.2.3

Based on a true story about a depressed river town in Indiana, which in 1971 succeeded in becoming the host for the Gold Cup of hydroplane boat racing: James Caviezel stars as Jim McCormick, a retired hydroplane boat racer living in the town of Madison, Indiana. The town has enjoyed a healthy river transportation economy throughout its history but now businesses are closing and people are moving away. McCormick believes that the town's fortunes will turn around if they manage to raise the funds to host the hydroplane racing's most prestigious championship. Also with Mary McCormack, Jake Lloyd, Bruce Dern and Brent Briscoe. Directed by William Bindley. [1:34]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - Two women in bikini swimsuits apply suntan lotion while sitting on a beach and a man watches them through binoculars. Women are shown in swimsuits and men are shown bare-chested at a riverside race. Several women are shown wearing tight-fitting and low-cut sweaters that reveal cleavage, and a woman wears a low-cut nightgown that reveals cleavage.
 A man and a woman kiss, a man and a woman hug and kiss, a man and a woman hug and the man picks the woman up and spins her around, and a man and a woman hug in a few scenes.
 A boy says to his mother, "No gambling, no whiskey, no women."

VIOLENCE/GORE 2 - During a race a boat explodes, the driver is pulled from the water, we see his wife watching in panic and we then see people grieving at a funeral; during another race a boat engine explodes, and the driver jumps out of the boat and swims to shore (he is shaken but appears to be uninjured).
 During a race one boat sprays another boat with water making it impossible for the driver to see. A boat speeds along a river, sputters, smokes and stops (there are no injuries). We hear about a boating accident and that one man died and another was badly injured.
 A man yells at another man and lunges at him (he is held back by other men), a man and a woman argue, and boys tease another boy and call him names.
 Several men fear that a boat will explode because it uses nitrous oxide. Men plan to steal a part from an airplane and a boy is involved in the heist. A man sings a song with lyrics that include "I saw a man shoot his wife."

LANGUAGE 3 - 1 scatological term, 2 mild anatomical terms, 14 mild obscenities, name-calling (chicken, retard), 6 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man smokes cigarettes and drinks a beer, several men drink beer while playing cards, and people are shown smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol at a party. A man drinks a cocktail, and people drink beer in a bar. One of the racing teams is sponsored by a prominent brewery and we see the brewery logo frequently and hear announcers and other characters refer to the brewery by name.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Winning, being indebted, the failing economies of small towns, progress, family, love, friendship, pride, fate, plant closings, nitrous oxide, moving on, small towns, community, future, life choices, fear.

MESSAGE - Being at the right place at the right time can make all the difference.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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