Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Middle Men -- a fictional history of the Internet porn industry -- is filled with naked women (mostly topless), sexual imagery, and sex talk, as well as tons of foul language and overindulgence in drugs, booze, and cigarettes. It tries to establish a theme about the importance of family, but it's really more of a wealth fantasy and a celebration of people who are crafty enough to get rich. In other words, it may be interesting and well-made, but it's not age appropriate for anyone who's not mature -- physically or emotionally.
Sexual
Content
The movie takes place in the porn industry. Characters appear to be having sex in crowd scenes, and the camera glances over them. Countless naked girls, mostly topless; a montage of men masturbating to their computer screens; "girl-on-girl action"; oral sex; a girl being seductive for the camera. The main character cheats on his wife with a porn star, and they're shown in bed together. Constant sex talk.
Violence
A minor character is punched, hard, in the head, and the blow kills him. Characters are slapped and punched and threatened with guns. A character is shot in the foot. A boy is kidnapped but not harmed. Loud arguments and squabbling with name-calling, pushing, and grabbing.
Language
Constant strong language includes almost every word in the book, from many uses of "f--k" and "motherf--ker" to "s--t," "bitch," "ass," "a--hole," "prick," "numbnuts," "idiot," "moron," "whore," "scumbag," "p---y," and lots of others.
Social
Behavior
There's an argument to be made that the movie has a message about the true meaning of family, but the film's overall theme is one of wealth fantasy and a celebration of people who managed to figure out a way to become filthy rich, no matter how sleazy or lowdown their methods were.
Consumerism
Mentions of companies like Visa, MasterCard, and Amazon, but nothing recurring or important to the story.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
The main character doesn't do drugs, but two secondary characters have serious drug problems, mainly with cocaine. They're often shown snorting the drug or already high; it affects their work and their lives. They also smoke cigarettes, in the beginning, before they're rich enough to afford hard drugs. Characters also drink alcohol almost constantly -- everything from beer to hard liquor -- though no one is shown to be an alcoholic.
