Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the raw moments include intense (and, of course, adulterous) sex scenes early on, with kinky overtones since they occur in an elevator, on a kitchen sink, etc. Violence involves bloody suicide attempts, a killing, and an infamous traumatic moment with a pet found killed. There is a considerable amount of swearing. Not only does the "hero" cheat, but he also wants Alex to have an abortion. The common, theatrical version of Fatal Attraction carries an audience-selected ending that just treats Alex as a monster to be slain; look on the DVD and "special editions" for the filmmakers' trickier original ending, in which the traitorous hero pays more dearly for his philandering.
Sexual
Content
Frantic, faintly kinky sex, with bare breasts and behinds, male and female. Alex in revealing bathrobe, lingerie. Daniel's wife in bra and panties. Talk of pregnancy, and of another couple possibly injuring themselves during extreme sex. Alex accuses Dan of being homosexual.
Violence
Vicious, hand-to-hand fights, including a drowning attempt. A fatal shooting. Knives figure prominently both in attacks and in a bloody suicide attempt (especially in the original, discarded ending). A pet rabbit is found bloody and boiled. A car crash and facial bruising that results.
Language
The f-word, the s-word, "a-hole," "slut," "c-k," S-O-B, "faggot," "bastard," "Jesus Christ," and "bitch." Scene of a little child picking up s-word use from a parent.
Social
Behavior
Strong message of worst-case-scenario consequences of male adultery and the danger of temptation, even when it seems like a sure thing with no side effects. Many commentators focused -- maybe excessively -- on the ghastly character of Alex as what happens when a single woman concentrates on career instead of family; she becomes a maniac, literally.
Consumerism
Car emblems and other household products. A quick, unidentified flash of the Nickelodeon TV kids' show You Can't Do That on Television. The opera Madame Butterfly gets numerous plugs.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Social drinking, offers of cocktails. Alex smokes cigarettes.
