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.
A reserved real estate office assistant (Molly Shannon) tries to cope with the death of her only companion, her dog. She does so by adopting an aggressive dog from the pound, and tries to strike up a relationship with a man who's helping her train it (Peter Sarsgaard). Also with Regina King, John C. Reilly and Laura Dern. Directed by Mike White. [1:38]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - A man and a woman kiss passionately in a restaurant, and another woman sitting at the table watches them. A man flirts with a woman, and kisses her neck while another woman watches. ► A man and a woman sit on a bed and they kiss tenderly (they do not have sex). People are shown kissing at a New Year's Eve celebration. ► A woman bends over and a man admires her buttocks; he tries to kiss her and she pushes him away. A woman winks at a man in a grocery store. ► A man talks about growing up in a cultish commune environment where there were no boundaries, and later we see photos of a man embracing a man, a man embracing a woman, and a man being licked by a dog on the mouth. ► A woman wears a low-cut and short top that reveals cleavage, her bare abdomen and bare back to hip. A woman wears a low-cut top and a short skirt that reveal cleavage and her bare thighs. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals part of her bra, cleavage and the top of her breast. A woman wears low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage. ► A man talks of a nightmare, which was about being raped by two bullmastiffs. A husband and wife talk about having a "hot night" together. A woman asks another woman if she had sex with a man and if they kissed or made out. A woman asks another woman when was the last time she had sex.
the review continues below...
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A woman finds her dog lying on the ground, whimpering and breathing irregularly, and she rushes it to the hospital where it dies from poisoning. ► A woman with a knife lunges toward a man trying to stab him, he wrestles with her briefly and holds her on the floor. ► A dog bites a woman on the hand (we see bloody teeth marks on her hand). ► We hear that a dog killed another dog and that the aggressor was euthanized. A woman accuses a man of poisoning her dog. ► A man talks of a nightmare, which was about being raped by two bullmastiffs. A woman grieves over animals that are killed in slaughterhouses and calls it a holocaust. A woman confronts her girlfriend's boyfriend about being unfaithful. A man talks about accidentally shooting and killing his dog while hunting moose. A woman talks about her young son's caregiver "doping him up with Benadryl." A man talks about donating money to a group that protests the clubbing of baby seals. A woman cries and grieves over the death of her dog in several scenes. ► A man yells at a woman over the telephone. A man yells at a woman. ► A woman soaks another woman's fur coats in a bathtub filled with water. A woman is fired from her job for stealing money from her boss. ► A dog defecates on the floor of a house (we see the feces). Many dogs run through a woman's house biting furniture and pillows, urinating and defecating on the floors, etc.
PROFANITY 4 - 4 sexual remarks, 4 scatological terms, 4 mild obscenities, 2 derogatory terms for the mentally and physically challenged, name-calling (spastic, jerk, stupid), 3 religious exclamations. [profanity glossary]
SUBSTANCE USE - A woman takes a Xanax tablet, and a woman offers another woman a Xanax tablet (she does not accept). A woman drinks a bottle of wine, a man drinks a beer, and a man and a woman drink wine with dinner.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Death of a pet, disappointment in people, grief, animal abuse, ASPCA, animal activism, animal testing, PETA, office politics, death, children and the subject of death, fraud, stealing, fate, desperation, insecurity, animal adoption, animal euthanasia, veganism, responsibility, relationships, marriage, infidelity, trust, betrayal of trust, torture, science, bestiality, progress, celibacy, preferring the company of animals to humans.
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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