Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that The Playroom is an unnerving look at the "Me Decade," aka the 1970s, when people were encouraged to do whatever they wanted, even if they caused great harm to those around them. Over the course of one tumultuous night, teenage Maggie watches over her three younger siblings while her parents host another couple for a grown-up evening of drinking, flirting, and possibly more risque behavior -- which could threaten their family. A teen girl is shown topless in a scene in which she has sex for the first time, and there's kissing and fondling in other scenes as well. There are also several intense and very realistic arguments, as well as plenty of drinking and (era-accurate) smoking. Expect some swearing (including "f--k" and "s--t") during the characters' highly emotional conflicts.
Sexual
Content
A girl is shown topless when a teenage couple has sex; the sequence includes a brief but frank discussion about birth control and the fact that it's her first time. A married woman flirts with another woman's husband, including kissing and some fondling. Two couples angrily talk about the fact that two of them are having an affair. In the morning, the four of them wake up in two beds, sleeping nude next to people who aren't their spouses.
Violence
Two men get into a fight, pushing and shoving each other across a room. Adults also get into heated screaming arguments that include throwing objects at others.
Language
Occasional swearing includes "f--k," "s--t," "bulls--t," and "bitch."
Social
Behavior
Pretty bleak messages about parenthood and family. A teen girl is forced to become a surrogate parent when her parents are too absorbed in their own lives to pay attention to their children's needs. It's a heavy burden, and while she's mostly up to the task, it's clear she doesn't enjoy it and resents her parents for foisting it upon her.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Adults are shown drinking all through a long evening, starting the moment they walk in the door from work. By the end of the evening, some of them are pretty drunk. Some of them also smoke (accurate for the movie's era). A teen girl steals a cigarette from her mom and goes outside to smoke. Children clean up after their parents' wild night, putting away plenty of half-filled drink glasses and emptying very full ashtrays.
