"SKINS" (2002) (Eric Schweig, Graham Greene) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Extreme Heavy Extreme Heavy Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Mild Mild Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild Moderate Heavy Heavy Heavy QUICK TAKE: Drama: A vigilante cop takes matters into his own hands regarding the problems facing him and the other inhabitants of an American Indian reservation. PLOT: Rudy (ERIC SCHWEIG) is a cop whose beat covers the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, one of the poorest places to live in the country. Although liquor isn't sold on the reservation, its various residents, such as Rudy's alcoholic brother Mogie (GRAHAM GREENE), can simply travel to a border town and get as much as they want. Accordingly, Rudy must not only deal with Mogie usually showing up drunk, but also with other alcohol related incidents, and even a recent murder. Not happy with how life has treated the American Indians or how they're handling it, Rudy decides to perform some vigilantism to right things. Accordingly, he anonymously beats the murder suspects so that they'll later confess and then sets fire to the liquor store that his brother usually frequents. The latter has unforeseen results, however, causing Rudy to see a shaman, Mr. Green Laces (MICHAEL SPEARS), in hopes of clearing his spiritual mess. It also causes him to try to get closer to Mogie and his 18-year-old son Herbie (NOAH WATTS), especially since Rudy's unable to stay mad at his older brother for long, even when he knows his lifestyle is slowly killing him. From that point on, Rudy tries to deal with that as well as his internal guilt regarding his various actions. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're interested in films about and featuring American Indians, it doesn't seem very likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language and violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ERIC SCHWEIG plays the local cop on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation who's become so fed up with both internal and external forces on the inhabitants that he's turned to vigilantism to take care of matters. Accordingly, he anonymously attacks some murder suspects and torches a liquor store. He also uses strong profanity, drinks and smokes, but has a soft spot in his heart for his disturbed older brother. GRAHAM GREENE plays his older, alcoholic brother who's nearly always drunk. He also smokes and uses strong profanity. NOAH WATTS plays his 18-year-old son who must put up with his father's problems. MICHAEL SPEARS plays a shaman who offers to help cleanse Rudy's spiritual problems. 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: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 28 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Other imitative behavior is present including vigilantism, arson and vandalism, resulting in various characters having varying degrees of bad attitudes. Violence consists of an off-screen murder and death (although the bloody victims are seen afterwards), domestic violence against women, a cop beating two murder suspects and other fighting. Some of that material has bloody results (including the sight of a burn victim's face and hands), and some of those scenes and others may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. A major character is an alcoholic and is seen drinking and/or drunk throughout much of the film (while others are also seen drinking). Tense family material involves domestic abuse, brotherly tension and a death in the family. Various characters smoke, an adult couple is briefly seen making out and a man jokingly asks his brother to buy him some condoms. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Mogie is an alcoholic and we see him drinking and/or drunk throughout most of the film. Other locals are also seen drinking and/or drunk in the film. While drunk and singing about going home to get drunk, Mogie goes into a store and buys some Colt 45s. A comment is made about murder suspects probably being drunk or stoned when they committed the act. While drunk, Mogie fires a shotgun at imaginary people or animals (but in reality at a can on a post). Rudy finally entices Mogie to accompany him to a picnic by saying that there's free beer there. Once they arrive, both have beer from a keg, as do others. Mogie then pours his beer on a man's barbeque and has another. He's then drunk there as well. A woman brings out beers for Rudy and herself. In a flashback, both the boys' mother and her husband drink from a small bottle or flask at a football game, and the husband is noted as being drunk. Later, that drunken stepfather returns home. After getting into a brief scuffle, one young man asks the other if he wants to get some beers and he does. Later, we see the two of them drinking at night. A TV reporter does a story on drinking on the reservation and we see a montage of individuals doing that, as well as someone commenting on people drinking and doing drugs because it's difficult to live there. Mogie admits to breaking into a liquor store in an attempt to steal booze. Mogie has a beer and when Rudy asks where he gets his crazy ideas, Mogie holds up the can. Some residents complain that a dead man was a wino and that he stole liquor from them. Later, an official comments that he can smell the booze on the body. Mogie drinks a great deal of liquor from a bottle and then stumbles around while drunk. Later, he's passed out. Some guys on the street drink. BLOOD/GORE Rudy discovers a murder victim who has blood from his mouth and on his head, clothes and the floor around him. The next day, he sees the dried blood on the floor. Rudy sets fire to a liquor store and inadvertently sets Mogie on fire. We then see various views of serious and bad-looking burns on half of Mogie's face and hand. We later see him with quite a scarred face and hand. We see Rudy vomit. A woman has blood from her nose and mouth after her husband has beaten her. We see a man's bloody leg after it's been caught in a bear trap (that has blood on it as well). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Mogie is disrespectful to Rudy while drunk. At least one guy murders another and he and his friend are disrespectful to Rudy. They also state their later assailant was "part nigger." Rudy is a vigilante-based cop who takes the law into his own hands on various occasions, including beating two murder suspects and setting a liquor store on fire. In a flashback, the boys' stepfather is mean to them and pushes their mother down a flight of bleachers at a football game. Rudy admits to messing around with a married woman. Mogie admits to breaking into a liquor store. We see a husband who's been beating his wife. Later, a cop on the scene mimics shooting that man dead with an imaginary gun. Mogie wants Rudy to help him blow off the nose of George Washington on Mt. Rushmore. Rudy says it's a bad idea and they never do it, but Rudy does later throw a large bucket of oil-based paint down the monument, leaving a long red streak down Jefferson's face. Those responsible for a man's death (by setting out a bear trap that caught his leg and then apparently let him bleed to death overnight in their backyard) have callous and defiant attitudes about their action (saying the guy was a wino and that their place had been burglarized a few weeks back). Officials also don't seem to care about this man's death. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" or "Blood/Gore" could also possibly be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. Rudy answers a call to an abandoned house at night. With his gun drawn, he enters the building with his flashlight and finds a bloody murder victim. He then hears and sees someone trying to get away through the window. He grabs that person's feet, but they kick him backwards. He then exits the building, starts to chase after him, but trips, and hits his head quite hard on a rock. Mogie nearly shoots an unknowing man with a rifle from a distance and through his sliding glass door (for revenge), but ultimately doesn't. GUNS/WEAPONS Handgun: Worn and/or carried by Rudy. Rudy imagines seeing an old photo of men with rifles. Shotgun: Fired by Mogie at a can while drunk. We hear some gunshots in an old Western playing on TV. Rifle: Nearly used by Mogie to shoot and kill someone out of revenge. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you (Clint Eastwood)," "Give us the f*cking ball," "You rat f*cker," "What the f*ck are you looking at?" "F*ckers," "Oh, f*ck," "You stupid m*therf*ck(er)," "What the f*ck happened?" "F*ck you, bitch," "Un-f*cking-believable," "What'd you do, sh*t yourself?" "Oh, sh*t," "You tub of sh*t," "Dipsh*ts and dildos," "Chickensh*t," "Sh*tty," "Sh*t-kickers," "You've got to be sh*tting me," "You're sh*tting me," "P*ckerhead," "Nuts" (testicles), "Jeez," "Weasel tail," "You're the official ass sniffer," "Kiss my ass," "What the hell happened to you?" "Shut up," "Bastards," "G*ddamn it, you're right," "Bonehead," "Quit screwing around," "You're an asshole," "You crazy son of a bitch," "Freak show," "You're a jerk," "Bitch" (said by a young man toward another young man), "Punk ass," "Faggot ass," "Nigger," "Do you want to see me piss my pants?" "What the hell is going on here?" "Kick their asses," "Retarded," "I don't give a rat's ass," "Screaming my ass off," "Why don't you go home, bitch?" (one woman to another), "Shut up" and "I got to go hang a rat" (presumably go to the bathroom). Dressed to conceal his identity, Rudy approaches two murder suspects at night and proceeds to hit both of them all over their bodies repeatedly with a bat or large stick (bad enough that they end up in the hospital). Rudy sets fire to a liquor store (via a trail of flammable liquid). Rudy throws a large bucket of oil-based paint down the Mt. Rushmore monument, leaving a long red streak down Jefferson's face. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A mild amount of suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A rap song contained lyrics that could not be understood (thus offering the possibility of additional potentially objectionable content), but the first song playing in the end credits does contain 1 "s" word and 4 uses of "You can bet your ass." PROFANITY At least 28 "f" words (5 used with "mother"), 28 "s" words, 3 slang terms using male genitals ("p*cker" and "pr*ck"), 18 asses (4 used with "hole"), 5 hells, 4 damns, 3 S.O.B.s, 1 crap, 2 uses of "Jesus" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Jesus Christ" and "Oh Jesus" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY A woman (that Rudy may be having an affair with) playfully climbs onto Rudy's lap as he sits on a kitchen chair, straddles him and the two make out (clothed, but the scene ends there). While drunk, Mogie tells a TV reporter that he wants to sleep with a large woman so that she'll cover up all of the cracks in his shack. Mogie jokingly asks Rudy to pick up some smokes and a pack of condoms. SMOKING Rudy and Mogie each smoke around 5 times, while some miscellaneous characters also smoke. A modern day medicine man also has Rudy light some tobacco ties as part of a ritual (he does, but does not ingest the smoke). Mogie jokingly asks Rudy to pick up some smokes and a pack of condoms. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Mogie and Rudy have a strained relationship throughout much of the film and Rudy feels guilty about causing Mogie's serious burns. We see a flashback that shows that the boys' father was an abusive, wife-beating alcoholic (he struggles with their mom and then pushes her down some bleachers at a football game and badmouths them while drunk). Herbie has to remind his father that it's his 18th birthday and Mogie (who's drunk) says that his father never remembered his. A family learns that one of its members is terminally ill. That person then dies and there's a funeral scene. We see a man beating on his wife. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Alcoholism, its causes and related side effects. Life on an Indian reservation. Vigilante police officers. Vandalism. VIOLENCE We see a flashback to Rudy having just been bitten by a black widow spider (we don't see the bite or the spider). Rudy answers a call to an abandoned house at night. With his gun drawn, he enters the building with his flashlight and finds a bloody murder victim. He then hears and sees someone trying to get away through the window. He grabs that person's feet, but they kick him backwards. He then exits the building, starts to chase after him, but trips, and hits his head quite hard on a rock. Mogie purposefully trips or knocks Rudy to the ground at a football game. While drunk, Mogie tries to punch Rudy but misses and falls to the ground. Rudy then gets on top of him, but is pulled off. After some profanity, Rudy grabs Mogie by the throat and has to be pulled away again. In a flashback at a football game, the boys' mother smacks her husband after he struggles with her over what appears to be her purse. He then pushes her quite hard and she falls down several rows of the bleachers and lands quite hard. Later, that drunken stepfather returns home and tries to punch Mogie. Mogie then pushes him to the ground and punches him, knocking him out. Rudy breaks up a brief fight between two young men (some pushing, thrown punches and struggling). Dressed to conceal his identity, Rudy approaches two murder suspects at night and proceeds to hit both of them all over their bodies repeatedly with a bat or large stick (bad enough that they end up in the hospital). Rudy sets fire to a liquor store (after breaking a window with his elbow) and inadvertently sets Mogie on fire (we see him partially on fire and he falls from the roof down onto the trash dumpster). Rudy responds to a domestic disturbance case and finds a man repeatedly slamming his wife into something in their house (she has blood from her nose). Rudy then struggles with the man and pins him to the couch, but the man then gets up and tries to flee. Rudy then hits the man with his nightstick in the back. We see a man's bloody leg after it's been caught in a bear trap and then see that the man is dead (and was left out to die by the people who set the trap). Rudy then uses his handgun to shoot out the chain holding down the trap. While drunk, Mogie trips and falls to the floor, but seems okay. Reviewed September 25, 2002 / Posted September 27, 2002

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