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"JESUS' SON"
(2000) (Billy Crudup, Samantha Morton) (R)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Extreme Heavy Heavy Mild Moderate
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Minor None Extreme
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy Heavy Moderate Moderate Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
Drama: A drug-using loser tries making his way through life during the 1970s.
PLOT:
It's the 1970s and a young man (BILLY CRUDUP) is trying to find his place in the world. What he finds instead is Michelle (SAMANTHA MORTON), a young woman whose boyfriend, McInnes (JOHN VENTIMIGLIA) nicknames him "F*ck head" (or FH for short) after he finds the two making out.

A year later, FH and Michelle meet once again and FH soon finds himself hooked on both her and the heroin she regularly uses. As a result, their relationship soon resembles a roller coaster, and during their down moments, FH hangs out with Wayne (DENIS LEARY), a fellow loser and junkie.

When Wayne dies of an overdose, FH gets a job at the local hospital where he meets Georgie (JACK BLACK), an orderly hooked on pills he steals from the facility. When Michelle runs off with John Smith (WILL PATTON), and then leaves the picture altogether, FH finds himself at the bottom of the barrel.

Placed in a rehab clinic where he meets Bill (DENNIS HOPPER), a fellow patient, FH later meets Mira (HOLLY HUNTER), a woman with a tragic romantic past. While dealing with these various people, FH tries to rebuild his life as he suddenly finds meaning in it through compassion for others.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're fans of someone in the cast, it's extremely unlikely.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For graphic drug use, strong language, sexuality and some violent images.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • BILLY CRUPUP plays a 1970s era loser who turns into a heroin junkie, use strong profanity, has sex with two different women, and smokes throughout much of the film.
  • SAMANTHA MORTON plays the junkie who gets him hooked on heroin. She also uses strong profanity, has sex with him and then an abortion, and ultimately takes her own life.
  • JACK BLACK plays a hospital orderly who steals and is seemingly addicted to pills taken from the hospital where he works.
  • DENIS LEARY plays a friend of FH's who drinks, shoots up heroin and uses strong profanity.
  • WILL PATTON plays a man who smokes, uses strong profanity and briefly takes Michelle away from FH. DENNIS HOPPER plays a fellow patient who briefly uses strong profanity.
  • 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 quick look at the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity is rated as extreme due to the use of at least 33 "f" words, while other profanities and colorful phrases also occur. Various characters are junkies and we see several instances of them shooting up and/or being high. Other characters pop pills they've stolen from a hospital (where they work), and others drink. In addition, the protagonist smokes throughout much of the film.

    A brief, but somewhat graphic sexual encounter shows movement, some nudity and includes related sounds, while we see other foreplay and some encounters take place off camera. One such encounter leads to a pregnancy that ends in an abortion, and we see the dead and nude body of a woman who's committed suicide. Various other characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes.

    The results of several off-screen violent acts are seen, including a bloody man who's been shot (and later dies), a suicide victim's non-bloody body, as well as a man seen with a large hunting knife sticking out of his eye socket, while some onscreen violence is present (a beating) as well as related accidental material (a bloody car wreck).

    Should you still be concerned about the film's content and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at our content listings for more specific examples of what occurs in the film.

    For those concerned with the repetitive flashing of bright lights on the screen, some of that occurs in scenes set on a subway car where the train lights keep flashing on and off.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • FH states that a traveling salesman who gave him a ride also gave him pills that made the lining of his veins feel scraped out.
  • FH drinks beer at a party where people may be doing drugs.
  • Michelle shoots up heroin while FH watches.
  • A man offers a beer to McInnes who's been shot.
  • FH shoots heroin into Michelle's arm.
  • FH tells us that he shot up the rest of his dope, and we then see him go into a bar where he helps Wayne drink a shot of liquor (and other people drink).
  • FH asks Wayne how much money they can make from selling scrap material and he replies that it will be enough to get drunk that night. While collecting that scrap material, FH says that all of the work is "messing with my high."
  • We see Wayne, FH and others having drinks in a bar.
  • We see FH and Wayne simultaneously, but separately shooting up some heroin they've just purchased (and FH states that he went looking for Michelle because if she knew drugs were around, she "surrendered"). While FH has a bad a reaction to it, we see and then hear that Wayne died from an overdose or it being bad.
  • We see that Georgie is high from some drugs he's stolen from the hospital where he works, and FH then frisks him for more, finds some, and consumes them.
  • FH takes more pills and then later states that he has to "come down" before Michelle sees him. Georgie later takes more pills.
  • In one scene, Michelle asks FH if he's high and he first says no, but then says that he is.
  • FH appears high while riding a subway car.
  • A woman asks FH if he wants a large pill consisting of psychedelic mushrooms that have been ground up. He apparently takes it as we then see him in the emergency room with a bad reaction to that pill (he hallucinates and convulses).
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • McInnes has blood on his shirt and hands after he's been shot.
  • We hear Michelle vomiting.
  • FH has a bloody nose after a waitress punches him.
  • We see a bloody hunting knife sticking out of a man's eye socket and that man has blood on his face and shirt (but is otherwise seemingly okay). We later see Georgie walk out with the knife and blood drips from it.
  • A man's face is very bloody after being in a car accident.
  • A man has scars on either side of his face from where he was previously shot (an entrance and exit wound).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • A man admits that he shot McInnes (we don't know why) and then wants the man to tell the authorities that it was an accident. He then beats up FH for no apparent reason.
  • FH apparently cheats on Michelle with her friend, although we don't see any of that.
  • Michelle steals some men's car as they confront FH.
  • A diner waitress accuses FH of stiffing her the last time he was in her place.
  • FH steals a jacket from someone's parked car.
  • We learn that Georgie steals pills from the hospital where he works and then shares them with FH.
  • A man states that his wife stabbed him in the eye after she caught him peeping on the next-door neighbor while she was bathing.
  • To those who object to abortions, Michelle has one and FH then callously asks her what they stuck up inside her during it.
  • Some viewers may object to a comment made by FH about God seeming like a "senseless maniac" (in relation to seeing all of the disabled or mentally incapacitated people in a group home where he works).
  • Hearing a woman singing, FH peeps into her window where he catches a glimpse of her in the shower. After that, he starts hanging out/hiding outside the house and eventually lets himself inside where he lies on the bed while listening to her sing in the shower (nothing else happens).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence" or "Blood/Gore" may be unsettling or tense to some viewers.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Handgun: FH tells us in voice-over narration that he was carrying one and we briefly see part of it in his pants.
  • Unseen weapon: Used by a man to shoot McInnes (not seen, although we see the injured and bloody man and then see that he's died from the wound).
  • Hunting knife: Seen sticking out from a man's eye socket after the man's wife stabbed him there (the attack isn't seen). Later, Georgie uses it to gut a rabbit he's just accidentally run over (neither is fully seen).
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "F*ck head" (said many times and given as the nickname for the protagonist), "F*ck you," "I don't really give a f*ck," "You can kiss my ass," "D*ck sucking bitch," "Sorry ass," "You can't sing for sh*t" and "Screwed up."
  • The heroin use might be enticing to some kids, although it's not portrayed in a glamorous light.
  • Wayne and FH use hammers and other tools to break through the walls in a deserted home to retrieve wiring and other material they can sell for money.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A tiny bit of ominous music plays in one scene.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 33 "f" words, 9 "s words, 1 slang term for/using male genitals ("d*ck"), 4 asses (1 used with "hole"), 2 damns, 1 hell, 2 uses of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "Christ," "God," "Oh God" and "Oh my God" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We see Michelle dancing around in her bra at a party.
  • FH and Michelle make out while standing up in a barn. They passionately kiss and he works on undoing her pants, but they're interrupted before anything else other than some caressing/groping occurs.
  • Back at FH's place, Michelle starts kissing him and removing his and her outer clothes (no nudity). He then tells her to slow down, that she's going to fast. It's implied, however, that they have sex as he later walks into a room, zipping up his pants, where we see her in her shirt and underwear. We later learn that Michelle is pregnant from one of their encounters.
  • We see Michelle bent over in her underwear and FH comments, "Christ, you have a beautiful ass." She then snuggles up with him in bed and we see the upper side of her thigh/side of bare butt in that high cut underwear.
  • We see varying shots of a nude woman parasailing (but all we see are her bare breasts).
  • Lying partially clothed on a bed with FH, Michelle tells him to pretend that it's their first time and that they're new. They then kiss a bit, but nothing else happens (although we see both of them in their underwear).
  • FH states that he got an erection while being around another man he found special (but apparently not in a sexual meaning).
  • Finding Michelle once more, FH states that, among other things, they made love (not seen).
  • We see Michelle in her bra.
  • We see a dead woman's nude body and briefly see her bare breast and butt as her body is carried into a bathroom. Moments later, we see part of her nude body lying on a bed, but it's out of focus (and a man's head blocks our view of her crotch - thus we see her out of focus bare breasts).
  • We see an obscured part of a nude woman's body in a shower (through a smoked glass door).
  • We see FH on top of Mira in bed (with the sheet covering them from the waist down). He's moving ever so slightly as she states, "That's nice" and "I like that." We then see her bare breasts as well as her pleasured reaction (and hear her pleasured sounds) as he begins rhythmically moving on top of her between her legs as they have sex.
  • SMOKING
  • FH smokes more than 10 times, while various minor and background characters also smoke in various scenes.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • We see a woman screaming in a hospital after a car wreck, presumably grieving over the death of someone close to her (but we never know anything more).
  • A man states that his wife stabbed him in the eye after she caught him peeping on the next-door neighbor while she was bathing.
  • A man in a group home has just learned that his wife is divorcing him (and he's upset).
  • Mira talks about her various husbands who've been killed over the years.
  • FH watches a Mennonite couple having a verbal fight.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Drug use and abuse.
  • A woman commits suicide via a pill overdose (we don't see the act, just her body afterwards).
  • What the film was trying to be about.
  • VIOLENCE
  • There's an accidental car wreck that's twice seen (but only briefly and in bits), the latter of which shows a man hanging from his car/partially lying on the road, his face very bloody.
  • As FH and some friends leave a party, they try to drive away from another man who runs alongside their car. That man then runs into a pole/signpost while doing so and falls to the ground dazed.
  • We see that a man has shot McInnes (we don't know why) and see blood on the latter's shirt and hands. He later dies from the wound.
  • From a distance, we see a man (who earlier shot McInnes) lead FH out into a field where he proceeds to punch and then pummel FH on the ground.
  • Mad at FH for apparently cheating on her, Michelle throws various objects at him.
  • A waitress punches FH for stiffing her the last time he was in her place.
  • Wayne and FH use hammers and other tools to break through the walls in a deserted home to retrieve wiring and other material they can sell for money.
  • Wayne and another man briefly struggle in a bar.
  • A man walks into a hospital with a hunting knife sticking out from his eye socket after the man's wife stabbed him there (the attack isn't seen).
  • Georgie accidentally hits a rabbit with his truck and then viciously takes a hunting knife to it (after it's dead and we don't fully see either), retrieving some still alive embryonic baby rabbits. Later, however, FH states that he accidentally squashed them (to death and not seen).
  • A woman commits suicide via a pill overdose (we don't see the act, just her body afterwards).
  • A miscellaneous woman has a black eye, presumably from being hit there.



  • Reviewed June 9, 2000 / Posted July 7, 2000

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