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.
In this drama, a serious party girl (Sandra Bullock) is
forced to face her addictions after a drunk-driving sentence lands her in rehab. Also with
Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Diane Ladd, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi, Marianne
Jean-Baptiste, Susan Krebs, Margo Martindale, Mike O'Malley, Joanne Pankow, Corinne
Reilly, Reni Santoni, Azura Skye, Julie St. Claire, Alan Tudyk and Loudon Wainwright III. [1:43]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - Many instances of sexual innuendo and many kisses (in a
couple of blurry scenes we see a scantily clad man and woman rolling around on a bed and
kissing; in another scene during a play, a man and woman comically roll around on a bed
and briefly kiss). An elevator door opens and we see a man and woman kissing inside (she's
wearing only a shirt and her bare buttocks are fully visible); in another scene a door
opens and we see a shirtless man zipping his pants and a woman wrapped in a sheet. A man
tells others to look at his clothed crotch, which is bulging because he's wearing a
mountain climber's harness; he also tells people he wants his foreskin back. We see a
blurry bar scene in which a woman unbuttons a man's shirt and he dances briefly. A woman
takes off her dress (we see it drop to the ground) and later is seen wearing a camisole
and short-shorts. We see a man and woman's bare backs as they're lying in bed; also, we
briefly see the side of a nude woman standing behind a semi-transparent glass door (the
shot is quite blurry; only her breasts are vaguely visible).
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - People try to revive an unconscious person lying on a
floor next to a syringe; later, we see the sheet-covered body being wheeled away. A drunk
driver nearly hits a few cars, runs over a fence and a statue, and eventually drives into
the front of a house (the driver gets a bloody cut on her forehead). A woman falls from a
high tree limb and injures her leg (we see her wearing a brace and using crutches
throughout most of the movie). On a soap opera we see a man fall to the floor and
convulse. In a flashback two girls try to rouse a drunken woman lying on the floor; she
wakes up after one of the girls slaps her face. A woman playfully hits the back of a man's
head, a man punches another (he falls to the ground and gets a bloody nose) and a woman
slaps a man. A drunken woman and two children sledding down a hill nearly collide with a
car. A man carrying a woman accidentally swings her injured leg into a wall (she groans in
pain). A drunk couple hit and bump people while dancing wildly. A small fire starts in an
apartment but is quickly extinguished. A man has a large abrasion on his face. We see a
photograph of a diseased liver; we also see one in a jar. A woman leans over a toilet and
we hear her vomiting. We see a self-inflicted bloody cut on a girl's leg.
the review continues below...
PROFANITY 5 - One F-word and two derivations, an obscene finger gesture,
several anatomical and scatological references, several mild obscenities and a couple of
insults. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Alcoholism, drug addiction, rehabilitation clinics, drunk
driving, dysfunctional families, death of a loved one, believing in yourself.
MESSAGE - Drug and alcohol addiction exacerbates rather than erases your
problems and pain. The only way to solve your problems is to acknowledge and confront
them.
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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