Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this darkly comedic drama is not meant for kids. Director Noah Baumbach, as in his other films, stakes his film firmly in messy, sometimes caustic, emotional terrain -- one character has just been discharged from a mental hospital, another gets an abortion -- that may be too mature for most teens. The film's protagonist (Ben Stiller) is a malcontent who rails against injustices small and large -- especially small. Swearing (everything from "asshole" to "dick" to "f--k") and insults are part of his usual patter. His love interest endures continuous emotional battering, and comes back for more. There's also a fairly graphic oral sex scene, and a scene where an adult does cocaine with college students.
Sexual
Content
A man performs oral sex on a woman; the scene is shot from afar, so no body parts are exposed. A woman's breast can be glimpsed in the shadows briefly. Another exchanges sexual banter with a much older man. A couple has sex on a couch; no genitals shown.
Violence
A character spews venom out of the blue, so his rage hits hard sometimes. Some expletive-riddled shouting matches.
Language
Everything from "damn" to "bitch" to "f--k" -- and plenty of it. Also, a few uses of "God" and "Jesus" as exclamations.
Social
Behavior
Even the most cynical of men appears to be redeemable by -- what else? -- love. That's the good and bad of the film, because he's downright nasty to the woman, and yet she embraces him, literally and emotionally, over and over again so that it's almost a masochistic exercise.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Social drinking; a forty-something man helps host a party for college students, and everyone is pretty much buzzed or sloshed. Some characters snort cocaine at a party.
