Screen It! is not attempting to rate the movie as good or bad but to give parents the tools to decide whether it's appropriate for their kids.
This movie has been screened for objectional content in 15 areas. Click for a detailed look.
OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
The following is a brief summary of the content found in this comedy/drama hybrid. Several sexual encounters are present, some of which involve nudity, including one that heavily implies male to female oral sex, and another with a woman manually stimulating a man. Some sexually related dialogue also occurs, a homosexual character tries to put the moves on a straight man, and other nonsexual nudity is also present. Profanity is heavy with at least 9 "f" words, along with some other profanities and colorful phrases. Some mild violence is present and one character smokes a great deal, while other smoking and drinking also occurs. Beyond all of that, the film's remaining categories have relatively little or nothing in the way of major objectionable content. Nonetheless, should you still be concerned about the film's content, we suggest that you take a closer look at what's been listed.
- QUICK TAKE:
- Drama/Comedy: A turn of the century New York playwright must contend with a bevy of idiosyncratic characters as he tries to get his latest play staged.
- WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
- Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or of live theater, it's extremely unlikely.
- WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
- For sexual content, nudity and language.
- CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
- JOHN TURTURRO plays a reserved playwright who hopes for success with both his latest play and his romance with Rachel. He does receive some unreturned sexual attention from Celimene.
- KATHERINE BOROWITZ plays the troupe's leading actress and the love of Tuccio's life who becomes jealous of his apparent connection/relationship with Celimene.
- SUSAN SARANDON plays an older diva who tries to manipulate Tuccio sexually and offers him guaranteed success in exchange for being her "kept" talent.
- CHRISTOPHER WALKIN plays a foppish and gay theater critic who's critical of everyone and everything, but does take a liking to Marco and tries to put the moves on him.
- BILL IRWIN plays that young actor who reluctantly agrees to meet the critic hoping he can persuade him to change his review of their play.
- BEVERLY D'ANGELO and DONAL McCANN play the theater owners who end up having affairs with others.
- RUFUS SEWELL plays the troupe's self-absorbed leading man who has sex with Simone and smokes a lot.
- JOHN TURTURRO plays a reserved playwright who hopes for success with both his latest play and his romance with Rachel. He does receive some unreturned sexual attention from Celimene.
DETAILED CONTENT LISTING:
Click on a category for specific details or scroll through the page for a broader overview.
EXTREME
Sex/Nudity
HEAVY
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude
MODERATE
Alcohol/Drugs | Profanity |
MILD/MINOR/NONE
Smoking Tense Family Scenes | Topics To Talk About | Guns/Weapons | Imitative Behavior | Music (Scary/Tense) | Jump Scenes | Music (Inappropriate) Blood/Gore | Frightening/Tense Scenes | Violence
- ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: MODERATE
(Return to Summary Chart)
- People have drinks in a theater lobby.
- People have drinks after Tuccio's play.
- Dominique drinks from a flask.
- Beppo takes a swig of liquor and then blows it across an open flame (to create a brief fireball).
- Pallenchio has wine with his meal.
- Astergourd pours wine for Beppo.
- BLOOD/GORE: MINOR
- We see a recently deceased body -- but other than being dead, it's not gory or bloody.
- DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: MODERATE
- When a woman accuses Umberto of criticizing everything --which he does -- including God, he replies that he does so because He made mistakes and still does so.
- Looking around the theater, Celimene comments about all the "ugly people" in the world.
- A person repeatedly spanks a child actor backstage so that he'll be crying when he appears in the middle of a play that requires him to be crying.
- Various characters have affairs with other characters.
- Umberto continues to pursue Marco when it's clear the latter isn't comfortable with the thought of that.
- Celimene tries to bribe Tuccio with guarantees of success and continued sexually related favors should he devote his efforts solely toward her.
- FRIGHTENING SCENES: MINOR
- Although it's not presented to be unsettling, a person collapses on stage and is presumed and then announced to be dead (he's not), but does later die in bed with others by his bedside (which could be unsettling to some viewers).
- We briefly see a man threaten another person in a darkened tunnel with a knife-life object or shank as he robs him.
- GUNS/WEAPONS: MILD
- Stage/play swords: Carried by actors or played with by some kids who hang around the stage.
- Knifelike object/Shank: Used by a man to threaten another during a robbery.
- Pistol: Held by Umberto to his own head while feigning suicide to get Marco's attention.
- IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: MILD
- Phrases: "Buggered," "Imbecile," "Shut up," "Bitches" and "Slut" (said toward men), "Balls" (testicles), "Whore," "Whoremonger," "Bastard" and "Fat bastard."
- Beppo pats Marta on the butt. She in turn puts him in a headlock.
- Beppo takes a swig of liquor and then blows it across an open flame (to create a brief fireball).
- Umberto holds a pistol to his own head while feigning suicide to get Marco's attention.
- Beppo rubs pasta all over his bare chest to prove to Astergourd how unconstrained he is.
- Lying on Astergourd's bed, Beppo takes her wardrobe, puts it on his feet, and then spins it around like a circus performer would.
- JUMP SCENES: NONE
- None.
- MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): NONE
- None.
- MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): NONE
- None.
- PROFANITY: HEAVY
- At least 9 "f" words (1 used sexually as is the word "pork"), 1 "s" word, what sounded like 2 slang terms for female genitals ("c*nt"), 2 slang terms for breasts ("t*t"), 3 uses of "buggered," 3 uses each of "Oh God" and "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Christ," "Jesus" and "God" as exclamations.
- SEX/NUDITY: EXTREME
- Marta shows cleavage many times in the low-cut outfit she wears.
- We hear sexual sounds (a woman's reactions) and then see Simone pleasurably reacting to what Dominique is doing between her legs (we can't see him as he's completely hidden from view). We do see her bare breasts as well as her near orgasmic reaction to his actions (and directions of what he's to do -- "Left...left..."). Moments later, we see her rush out with only a sheet (or something similar) covering her. Dominique is then upset with her saying that she almost climaxed and accuses her of being incapable of "culmination."
- During a long line of describing things he dislikes, Umberto includes the thought of Celimene "fornicating" with a man.
- One of the players comments that Dominique "f*cked all day," causing someone else to say that's what their play is all about (fornication).
- Celimene shows some cleavage in several scenes.
- As Simone rehearses, a man paints her bare nipple.
- Tuccio imagines seeing Rachel talking to a man with her bare breasts exposed (and no one seemingly thinking anything of it). This is after that man tells her, "Watching you from twenty feet away, I felt like I slept with you."
- Flavio makes a comment (that sounded like) finding his daughter having sex with someone and then (what sounded like) having to find someone to have sex with.
- When complaining to Astergourd about their marriage, he says that he can deal with the lack of sex, but doesn't want his masculinity belittled.
- Astergourd appears to become visibly aroused when Beppo seductively eats a large flower he brought her.
- A character comments that Oedipus has sex with his mother in the play named after him.
- When Marco receives an invitation from Umberto to his house, the young man is upset and tells Beppo that "He'll pork me." Beppo then says, "Well let him. And act like you like it." (All so that the critic may write a favorable review of their play).
- As Dominique and Orlandini walk along at night, Dominique mentions that he smells sex. Orlandini then asks if he thinks masturbation is a sin and Dominique replies that it depends on where one's other hand is.
- Marta comes on to Pallenchio as he eats dinner. She states that she's a bone person and likes to suck on bones. We then see her seductively suck on a chicken bone leg and then slowly run it in and out of her mouth. She then starts to undress (off camera) and he looks at her obvious nudity. Moments later, we see him kissing, rubbing and fondling her very large and bare breasts.
- Umberto, who's gay, tries to seduce Marco (and during this we see a sketch/drawing of two nude men wrestling, showing one of their bare butts). He then tries to get Marco to admit that he's "a buggered rosebud."
- We see most of Celimene's bare breasts through a sheer curtain hanging in her bedroom. Moments later we see her and Tuccio kissing. Several scenes later and while seated, she asks him if he's ever milked a cow as she undoes his pants and puts her hand inside them. We then see a different angle of this same scene and can see her rhythmically moving her arm (manually stimulating him), but can't see the actual act since his body now blocks our view). We also see his pleasured reaction to what she's doing. Later, she pulls up her dress and tells him to look at what could be his (but we don't see anything, although he apparently does).
- Simone crawls into bed with Piero, but we don't see anything other than her snuggling up to him.
- We see Astergourd kissing Beppo's bare chest and belly. Later, we see her writhing on top of him from either sex or oral sex, but we can't see either.
- SMOKING: HEAVY
- Dominique smokes nearly ten times, while other miscellaneous characters briefly smoke and Beppo has a cigar in his mouth in one scene.
- TENSE FAMILY SCENES: MINOR
- Astergourd and Pallenchio are having some problems in their marriage (although everything turns out okay in the end after they've fooled around with other people).
- TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: MINOR
- The life of those involved in the theater.
- VIOLENCE: MILD
- All of the following is meant to be seen in more of a comic, rather than serious, vein.
- Beppo grabs a man by the throat and pins him to the wall for grabbing Flavio's hat.
- A child performer purposefully hits Orlandini with a large stick of bread.
- Flavio hits someone with a cane (who took his hat).
- Beppo and a police officer briefly struggle and have to be separated.
- Some brief comments are made about violence and violent scenes in famous plays.
- A person repeatedly spanks a child actor backstage so that he'll be crying when he appears in the middle of a play that requires him to be crying.
- Marco and Beppo briefly struggle in their room.
- Beppo pats Marta on the butt. She in turn puts him in a headlock.
- We see a man threaten another person in a tunnel as he robs him.
- Celimene slaps Tuccio who in turn grabs her by the hair and then pushes her down.