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"THE CIDER HOUSE RULES" (1999) (Tobey Maguire, Michael Caine) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Moderate Extreme Mild Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None None None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Drama: After growing up in an orphanage where he assisted the resident doctor, a young man sets out to see and experience the world. PLOT: Dr. Wilbur Larch (MICHAEL CAINE) is a caring physician who runs an orphanage in St. Clouds, Maine in 1943. With the help of Nurse Edna (JANE ALEXANDER) and Nurse Angela (KATHY BAKER), Larch delivers babies from unwanted pregnancies while also performing covert and, at the time, illegal abortions for others. His main assistant, however, is Homer Wells (TOBEY MAGUIRE), a young man who has grown up and spent his entire life at the orphanage. Despite never attending high school, let alone a medical institution, Homer helps deliver babies and cares for the other kids, including Buster (KIERAN CULKIN), Fuzzy (ERIK PER SULLIVAN), a sick little boy, and Mary Agnes (PAZ DE LA HUERTA) who has a crush on Homer. He does not, however, perform any abortions as he doesn't agree with the procedure on moral grounds. Things change for Homer upon the arrival of Candy Kendall (CHARLIZE THERON) and her air force boyfriend, Wally Worthington (PAUL RUDD). Candy is pregnant and has arrived for an abortion, and when she and Wally leave, Homer asks if he can go with them. While no one is happy to see Homer depart, especially Larch, the young man is excited about seeing the rest of the world that lies outside the orphanage. Despite his medical skills, Homer agrees to take an apple-picking job at an orchard run by Wally's mother, Olive Worthington (KATE NELLIGAN). There, working for the orchard boss, Mr. Rose (DELROY LINDO), Homer finds happiness working alongside Rose's daughter, Rose Rose (ERYKAH BADU), as well as migrant workers such as Peaches (HEAVY D), Jack (EVAN DEXTER PARKE) and Muddy (K. TODD FREEMAN). Yet, with Wally now back off in the war, the friendship between Homer and Candy turns into something more. As he tries to sort out his feelings about her and the discovery of an incestuous relationship, Homer must decide about his future and whether or not it includes his previous life with Larch and the rest of the gang back at the orphanage. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or of author John Irving, it's not very likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For mature thematic elements, sexuality, nudity, substance abuse and some violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TOBEY MAGUIRE plays a reserved young man who practices obstetrics without any formal training and then heads off to see the world. He ends up having an affair with a young woman and performs an abortion on another woman who's pregnant due to incest. Beyond that, he's a friendly, hard working and modest sort. MICHAEL CAINE plays the orphanage's resident doctor who delivers babies, cares for the kids and performs the occasional, and at the time, illegal abortion (so that women would have it done correctly and not be butchered by others or themselves). He acts as a father figure for Homer, teaching him about medicine and life, but isn't happy when Homer decides to leave to see the world. He's also addicted to ether. CHARLIZE THERON plays a young woman who cheats on her boyfriend (who's off in the war) with Homer. We first see her when she arrives at St. Clouds for an abortion. PAUL RUDD plays a WWII aviator who gets Homer a job at his mother's apple orchard before heading off to war. We also learn that he got Candy pregnant. DELROY LINDO plays the head of the orchard crew, a hard working man who turns out to be having an incestuous affair with his own daughter. ERYKAH BADU plays one of the orchard workers who turns out to be pregnant by her father and has an abortion before stabbing her father on her way out of his life. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-13 rated drama. For those opposed to or upset by such actions, several abortions take place in the film (at a time when they were illegal), one caused by a father's incestuous relationship with his own daughter, with another due to unseen sexual activity. Other sexual activity is implied, including that of the main character and a young woman who cheats on her boyfriend who's off in the war. Some related activity is seen, as is nudity (that also occurs in a nonsexual context). A violent act occurs off camera (with bloody results), while several characters threaten and mildly wound each other with knives in another scene. Minor profanity is present along with a few colorful phrases. Several characters smoke while one is addicted to ether and is seen several times inhaling it before passing out. Beyond that and some thematic issues of children in orphanages (including a sick one who dies), the rest of the film is mostly void of any other major objectionable content. Nonetheless, should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at the more detailed content listings. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Larch is addicted to ether and we see several scenes of him inhaling the fumes of it (by placing drops on a surgery mask) and then passing out/falling asleep. BLOOD/GORE We see some bloody sheets as well as surgical gloves and an apron after a medical procedure. Although we don't see the contents and don't learn of their identity until later, we see Homer taking aborted embryos out to an incinerator. We hear the sound of a boy vomiting. We see Rose Rose sewing up the open and somewhat bloody gash on Mr. Rose's palm (from where he was knifed). A man is bloody after he's been stabbed (his front and hands) and the sheets beneath him are bloody as well. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Those who oppose abortions will probably take offense at the film with Larch performing many of them (with them being illegal at the time) and later Homer performing one on a young woman pregnant by incest. In addition, Candy has an abortion. In an introductory flashback, we're told that Homer's second adoptive family beat him (not seen), and thus the orphanage retrieved him from them. Some soldiers accost Mary Agnes at the train station. We learn that Larch has forged some documents to protect others and later fakes Homer's medical school history to try to fool the orphanage's board of directors into thinking he's a real doctor. Larch also belittles Homer (for selfish and paternal-like reasons) for wanting to leave and see the world. An older orchard worker is mean toward everyone. Jack, one of the orchard workers, has a bad work attitude and throws a cigarette butt into a batch of cider and then refuses to get it out. He then tries attacking Mr. Rose with a knife. Despite Candy being Wally's girlfriend, she and Homer eventually become lovers. We learn that Rose is having an incestuous affair with his daughter and has got her pregnant. FRIGHTENING SCENES Jack tries attacking Mr. Rose with a knife (after the latter reprimands him) and ends up cutting his hand (Rose then defends himself with a knife and slices Jack's clothes). GUNS/WEAPONS Bombs: Seen in newsreel footage in a movie theater. Knives: Used by Jack and Mr. Rose to threaten each other. Knife: Used to stab someone (not seen). IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Moron(s)" "Jerk," "Bastard" and "Niggers" (said by a black man). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 3 hells, 1 ass, 1 damn and 2 uses of "Oh God" and 1 use each of "G-damn" and "God" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY Although the sexual activity that got them pregnant isn't seen, such activity is implied by the many women who come to St. Clouds to deliver babies or have abortions. We also see a few shots of Larch between women's spread legs as he works on them (although no nudity is seen). Mary Agnes somewhat suggestively sticks her tongue out at Homer. We learn that Candy is several months pregnant by Wally (she has an abortion). We see an orchard worker's bare butt as he comes out of an outdoor shower (along with a brief glimpse of full frontal, but from a side view). In the woods, Homer and Candy kiss and then lay down on the ground with him on top of her. She works on his belt as both do some heavy breathing and more passionate kissing. We then see him between her legs on the ground, and while we don't see any nudity or movement, they apparently have sex. We see Candy lying fully nude on a bed (and thus see her bare butt and part of the side of her bare breast). Homer then gets on the bed with her, but we don't see anything else happen (although it's implied that they continue with their sexual relationship). When Wally's mother comes by to check on Homer, we see Candy hiding and standing off to the side with just a sheet covering her. Later, when the orchard workers return for the season, they nearly catch Homer and Candy in the act and we see her adjusting her shirt. We learn that Rose is pregnant by her father. Homer then confronts him and asks, "Are you sleeping with your own daughter" and "You had sex with your daughter?" Mr. Rose denies it. SMOKING Candy smokes a few times, Homer smokes once and some of the orchard workers, including Muddy, Peaches and Jack smoke one or more times. TENSE FAMILY SCENES The kids in the orphanage don't have real families and one of the little boys sadly announces that nobody wants him. Buster states that sometimes he would like to meet his real parents to show them what he can do, but at others he wants to meet them so that he can kill them (although he adds that he would never really kill anyone). We learn that Mr. Rose is having an incestuous relationship with his daughter and has got her pregnant. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Abortions and the fact that back then when it was illegal, women would perform them on themselves or have botched ones (a character here has done that and dies) and that's the reason that Larch performs them, despite them being illegal. Children left and/or growing up in orphanages. The fact that Homer delivered babies and later performs an abortion without any formal medical training. Incest. Why Fuzzy had to sleep in a plastic tent (he's sick with bronchitis). The fact that the rest of the orchard crew can't read. VIOLENCE In a scene from the movie "King Kong," Kong thrashes a dinosaur. Seeing Homer leave, Mary Agnes slaps herself. We see some bombs dropping in WWII newsreel footage playing at a theater. Jack tries attacking Mr. Rose with a knife (after the latter reprimands him) and ends up cutting his hand (Rose then defends himself with a knife and slices Jack's clothes). We learn that a character has stabbed another and that the victim then worsened the wound by stabbing himself again. He later dies of the wound. A person dies from an accidental overdose of ether. Reviewed November 23, 1999 / Posted December 17, 1999