Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the film delves into mature subject mature, including sexuality, death (suicide, for one), abortion, and teenage and middle-age ennui. Most of the teenage characters, and many of the adults, too, are pushing their boundaries and defining themselves, sometimes in ways that seem destructive. One girl appears to flaunt her sexuality, especially at older males. There's also a fair amount of swearing. By way of foreshadowing, astronaut Christa McAuliffe's death during a failed 1986 takeoff looms over the storyline.
Sexual
Content
Teen girls flirt with older men; a high school boy masturbates as he watches a neighbor nurse her child; couples kiss.
Violence
A character is revealed to have been sexually abused by an uncle. (Later, she appears to need an abortion.) Some yelling and shoving.
Language
"Damn," s--t" and "f--k" are all fair game.
Social
Behavior
So many of us want to be heroes, but heroism doesn't come easy. Also: Two people who may, on the surface, seem like polar opposites can find common ground.
Consumerism
Signage/labels such as the Mister Softee truck and National Geographic are visible.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Some teen drinking, drug use.