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Nicolas Cage stars as a neurotic
confidence man, who, along with his partner (Sam Rockwell), works
over the telephone, swindling the naïve and gullible out of their
money. He has a big hit planned when his estranged 14-year-old
daughter appears on his doorstep and wants to become a part of his
life. Should he turn her away knowing what kind of life he leads or
should he bring her in on the high-risk scam? It's one more
stressful issue he has to deal with and it intensifies his neurotic
episodes. Also with Alison Lohman, Bruce McGill and Bruce Altman.
Directed by Ridley Scott. [1:56]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - Women in thong bikinis dance in a
nightclub: one dances on a pole very seductively (we see bare
buttocks), men watch and whistle, one woman wears pasties, and
another woman takes a man by the hand and leads him out of the room.
A man hugs a woman from behind and caresses her pregnant tummy. We
see a man's bare buttocks through a hospital gown. A woman wears a
tight-fitting, low-cut dress that reveals cleavage. A young woman
talks about having been groped and grabbed inappropriately by a
security or police officer. A young woman tells a man about sexual encounters she
has had with teen boys (he stops her before we hear many details). A man opens his
bathroom door and a young woman screams.
VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - A man is shot in the stomach, his
hand is covered with blood when he touches the wound, and he falls
back over a table. We see a man with a bloody and bruised face and
he spits out blood, another man holds a gun on him, another man and
a young woman. A man throws an ashtray at another man hitting him in
the head, and a man is hit hard in the head and he falls
unconscious. A man jumps toward a car, hits it with a briefcase,
grabs a young woman's hair through the window and chases the car as
it drives away. A man threatens another man with physical violence
and a young woman yells at a man. A man talks about having given his
ex-wife a black eye. A man is startled when a young woman lunges at
him from behind a door. A young woman talks about having been groped
and grabbed inappropriately by a police officer. A man has an
episode that causes him to twitch and sweat profusely and
hyperventilate. We hear that a woman has had a miscarriage. A man
wipes a telephone receiver on his backside and crotch. A young woman
eats sloppily and has food on her face.
PROFANITY 5 - 3 F-words (one mouthed), 3 obscene hand
gestures, 18 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 9 mild
obscenities, 3 religious profanities, 14 religious exclamations. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Obsessive/compulsive disorder,
grifters, fraud, bait and switch, confidence games, homelessness,
parenting, neuroses, phobias, fatherhood, infidelity,
rationalization.
MESSAGE - We can find affection in the most unexpected
places.
(Note: People are shown chain smoking throughout the movie
and we also see people drinking alcohol. We learn that one character
is an alcoholic.)
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