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.
Adapted from the popular musical play, we follow the interconnected stories of people living in a rundown apartment building in NYC's East Village. Many of them suffer from AIDS, others carry the grief of losing a partner, others go after their dreams even in the face of disappointment, and all wrestle with their ability to pay the rent. With Anthony Rapp, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel, Rosario Dawson, Adam Pascal, Taye Diggs and Tracie Thomas. Directed by Chris Columbus. [2:15]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - Several women dance in an exotic dance club: they wear skimpy outfits that reveal cleavage, bare abdomens, legs and part of their buttocks, while men and women watch them and they tuck money into their garments. A woman begins to lift her top (acting like she will take it off) and she reveals her bare abdomen. A woman pulls down her skirt and exposes her bare buttocks to three men. During a performance a woman grabs her breasts and pretends to be drinking milk from a cow's udders. A man and a woman dance the Tango and are then joined by others (the women wear low-cut dresses) who dance with seductive gestures and caress each other. A woman wears a tight-fitting outfit, she crawls on the floor looking for something, and a man admires her buttocks. A woman wears a skin-tight cat costume, and a woman dances seductively around a man. Two gay women hug and squeeze each other's buttocks. ► A man and a woman kiss in several scenes, two women kiss, two men kiss (they also talk about moving in together and exchanging 1000 kisses), and several couples kiss at a New Year's Eve celebration. ► A woman flirts with other women in several scenes, a man and a woman confess their love for each other, two gay men agree to move in together, and two gay women commit to each other. A woman asks a man to take her out and he refuses.
the review continues below...
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A man is mugged by three men who punch and kick him and steal his coat (we see the man in an alley with a bloody mouth and he coughs and spits out blood later). ► A woman goes through drug withdrawal and we see her sweating, vomiting and quaking uncontrollably. A woman collapses, she coughs and quakes, she is carried into an apartment and falls limp in a man's arms. We see two women injecting themselves with drugs in a few scenes. ► People become angry during a protest, they begin shoving, and police officers with clubs hit several of the people. A man falls on the floor, knocks his head and is unconscious for a few moments. ► A gay man becomes very ill from AIDS, we see his condition deteriorate and he dies in the arms of another man who grieves over him, and we see the funeral later. It is implied that people suffering from AIDS die one-by-one (they all sit in a support group and then begin to disappear). ► A woman sleeping on the street is rousted by the police, she gets up and yells at a man. A man cleans the windshield of a car while the car speeds away. People stand on the balconies of apartment buildings and burn pieces of paper. We hear that a dog is killed.
PROFANITY 5 - 3 F-words, 1 obscene hand gesture, 6 sexual references, 6 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 14 mild obscenities, 1 religious profanity, 9 religious exclamations. [profanity glossary]
SUBSTANCE USE - We see two women injecting themselves with drugs in a few scenes, we see a woman buying drugs from a man on the street in a few scenes, and a man smokes marijuana. People are shown drinking wine and champagne at a celebration. A man and a woman smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, and people are shown drinking alcohol and smoking in nightclub scenes. A woman smokes cigarettes in several scenes, and a man smokes cigarettes in a few scenes.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - AIDS, the HIV virus, drug use and addiction, homosexuality, cross dressing, infidelity, leaving something behind, drug rehab, control issues, obsessive behavior, urban living, squatting, corporate America, selling out, making commitments in relationships, eviction, homelessness, dignity in death, death of a loved one, death of a pet, masturbation, effects of money on our ability to feel for other people, protest.
MESSAGE - Regret keeps us from living our lives. Live life one day at a time.
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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