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(About Our Ads) "THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW" (2004) (Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Moderate Moderate *Heavy Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor Minor Extreme None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild None Mild Moderate *Heavy QUICK TAKE: Drama/Action: Various people try to survive a sudden and massive climate change that spawns tornados, floods and blizzard conditions that threaten to kill everyone. PLOT: Professor Jack Hall (DENNIS QUAID) is a climatologist who, with the aide of assistants Jason Evans (DASH MIHOK) and Frank Harris (JAY O. SANDERS), has come to the conclusion that long term global warming is going to disrupt the world's weather patterns so much that it will create another ice age. Fellow professor Terry Rapson (IAN HOLM), who works with his small team in a remote reporting station, has verified Jack's beliefs and warnings. Yet, no one, from Jack's boss Tom (NESTOR SERRANO) to Vice President Becker (KENNETH WELSH), will believe their findings. As Jack's physician wife Lucy (SELA WARD) cares for a sick boy and their 17-year-old son Sam (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) heads off to Manhattan for an academic competition with teammates Laura Chapman (EMMY ROSSUM) and Brian Parks (ARJAY SMITH), little do any of them anticipate the massive climate change that's about to sweep over the world. As tornados devastate Los Angeles, and a massive tidal surge sweeps through Manhattan, the northern hemisphere's climate rapidly begins to cool down. Sam and his friends first take cover with academic competitor J.D. (AUSTIN NICHOLS) in his father's penthouse, but then end up stranded in the city library along with various other people, including Luther (GLENN PLUMMER), a local homeless man. As the weather conditions worse and the storm's vortex threatens to pump ultra-cold air over the region -- instantly freezing anyone caught outside -- Sam and the others try to survive, all while Jack and his team set out from Washington toward New York on a rescue mission. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of anyone in the cast or big-budget, disaster flicks, they just might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For intense situations of peril. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: DENNIS QUAID plays a climatologist whose worst weather nightmares and predictions come true when the climate suddenly shifts for the worse. He tries to warn others, briefly uses some profanity and then sets out to rescue his son. JAKE GYLLENHAAL plays his 17-year-old son who finds himself stuck in Manhattan and shows bravery in trying to keep himself and others alive. He also has a hard time telling Laura how he feels about her. EMMY ROSSUM plays the girl on his academic team who eventually learns of his feelings toward her as both try to survive. ARJAY SMITH plays Sam and Laura's academic teammate who assists them in their quest for survival. AUSTIN NICHOLS plays a rich teen who takes in Sam and his teammates after disaster strikes. DASH MIHOK and JAY O. SANDERS play Jack's climatology assistants who join him on his quest to rescue Sam. IAN HOLM plays a scientist who agrees with Jack's meteorological assessment but finds himself trapped in a remote reporting station. He briefly drinks. SELA WARD plays Jack's physician wife who stays behind to care for a sick boy. KENNETH WELSH plays the Vice President of the United States who repeatedly blows off Jack's warnings about the pending weather change. He briefly uses profanity. GLENN PLUMMER plays a homeless man who finds himself stranded with Sam and the others. 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 action-drama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 2 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. An adult couple is briefly seen fooling around (but are interrupted before anything happens), a young couple briefly kisses and a man and his teenage son are separately seen in their boxers (in nonsexual moments). Various weather related disasters (tornados, storm surge and other flooding, and blizzard conditions) occur, resulting in massive property damage and thousands if not millions of suggested deaths. Some briefly bloody and/or gory visuals are present, and all of that plus some others scenes may be tense or suspenseful to viewers. Some bad attitudes are present (and some viewers may see the film as too political in its message and portrayal of White House officials), while some brief drinking occurs. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, some of that occurs in scenes featuring lighting. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Terry jokes that science summits are about dancing girls, wine and parties. A man may down a shot of sake. One of Terry's workers proposes trying to use 12-year-old scotch in their heating, prompting Terry to ask, "Are you mad?" They and another worker then drink some of it. BLOOD/GORE A man has a little bit of blood on his hand and a trickle down his head following a helicopter crash. Laura cuts her leg on a vehicle (we briefly see some blood disperse into the water around her). A man cuts his hand on some glass, resulting in some blood. We see a large, infected cut on Laura's leg (we hear she has blood poisoning). We see a little blood on J.D.'s pants leg after an escaped zoo wolf has bitten him. We see lots of frozen, snow-covered bodies on the ground. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Some viewers may see the film as having a political agenda regarding the issue of global warming as well as the current White House administration. The Vice President is portrayed as a stubborn man who doesn't pay heed to Jack's warnings, even after the global weather has changed. Luther steals a hot dog from a vending stand. Some viewers might not like when a librarian states that he doesn't believe in God. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. As Jason drills for a core sample in Antarctica, we see and hear a crack forming between him and his base camp. Jack and Frank race outside and manage to grab him as the ice he was standing on collapses below him. They then pull him up to the edge of the new ravine, but Jack decides to jump across the growing ravine to save some work. He then jumps back across, but only gets to the edge and barely holds on with his ice pick. Jason and Frank then rescue him. For those nervous about flying, there's a scene featuring Sam (who's scared of flying), Laura and Brian encountering a great deal of rough turbulence as their plane flies through a storm. A beverage cart flies down the aisle of a plane during bad turbulence and nearly smashes into a flight attendant who barely gets out of the way in time. For those afraid of bad storms, the film is filled with scenes of natural disasters, including thunderstorms with hail and tornados, tidal waves and flooding, and hurricane and blizzard conditions. Rising flood waters soon inundate Manhattan, first knee and then waist deep. A massive tidal surge races toward Manhattan and we see the water surround the Statue of Liberty up to the chest level. It then proceeds to wash over and through Manhattan, sweeping away vehicles and presumably killing thousands of people or more (seen from a distance). Laura returns to a cab to retrieve some people's passports (who were trapped in the cab until a cop broke the glass), unaware that a massive tidal surge is racing toward her and others. Sam runs out to get her and the two barely make it back into a library as the flood waters engulf the area and crash through the lower parts of the library. Sam goes into deep and freezing water to make a phone call to his father. As the waters continue to rise, Lauren looses sight of him and worries that he's drowned. As Jack, Jason and Frank make their way across the deep snow, the glass roof of a mall beneath them breaks, sending Frank falling through the hole and pulling Jason and Jack toward it. They then attempt to rescue him, but the glass below Jason (at the edge of the hole), begins to crack. One then takes a drastic, sacrificial step to save the others. After her hospital and city are evacuated, Lucy stays behind to care for a sick boy who can't be transported except in an ambulance (none of which are left). We hear that the storm's vortex (that will pull down lethal cold air) is headed for Manhattan. Sam, J.D. and Brian head out into the elements to board a freighter that's frozen in the streets of Manhattan. As they look for penicillin for Laura, we see a pack of escaped zoo wolves boarding the freighter and headed their way. The wolves then attack and one grabs J.D.'s leg, with Sam beating it off with a flashlight. The three then find themselves trapped, so Sam goes through an opening to the outside to come back in elsewhere and distract the wolves. They hear him, however, and give chase through the freighter as Brian and J.D. escape. The three then race back toward the library being the deadly ultra cold descends upon them (they barely make it back into the library as everything around them instantly freezes). Jack barely gets himself and the unconscious Jason into a fast food restaurant before the deadly ultra cold descends upon them. We see lots of frozen, snow-covered bodies on the ground. GUNS/WEAPONS Military helicopters: Seen in several scenes to transport and/or rescue people. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "Shut up," "Look at all those nerds," "My ass is on the line," "What the hell is going on?" "Bloody," "C'mon you bastard" (a pilot about an out of control helicopter), "Are you mad?" "Worth a damn?" and "Sure as hell." JUMP SCENES Air masks suddenly drop down from a plane's ceiling (it might startle a few viewers). MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music occurs in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 2 "s" words, 4 damns, 2 hells, 1 ass, 5 uses of "Oh my God," 3 of "God" and 1 each of "Good God," "My God" and a possible "G-damn." SEX/NUDITY We see Jack in his boxers. We briefly see a guy partially lying on a woman on a couch (both are clothed), kissing her and starting to undo her blouse. She's distracted, however, and other sounds interrupt them. We see Sam in his boxers after he changes out of freezing and wet clothes. Laura (who's fully clothed) then hugs him tightly to transfer her heat to his body (and he likes the close contact). Sam and Laura briefly but passionately kiss. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Sam and Lucy appear to live in separate homes, but there's no mention of their marital status. Sam isn't happy with his dad when the latter drops him off at the airport. J.D. claims that his father is never around as he's always traveling with the boy's stepmom. Jack and Lucy worry about their son's safety. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The issue of global warming. The previous Ice Age. Some viewers may see the film as having a political agenda regarding the issue of global warming as well as current White House administration. The Vice President argues that the economy is just as important as the environment. Sam likes Laura but can't get himself to tell her. The President is portrayed as indecisive. We see a bald young boy in a hospital (presumably a cancer patient). A man purposefully sacrifices himself to save others. VIOLENCE The following isn't of human on human violence, but rather people being wounded or killed due to extreme weather and its repercussions. Huge pieces of hail crash down onto a city, causing property damage and injuring or killing people (we see a few being hit). We see property damage occur in hurricane footage on TV. Multiple tornados destroy most of downtown Los Angeles, devastating buildings (and wiping out the Hollywood sign). We also see cars having to avoid other vehicles flipping down the road toward them, a bus rolling over on top of a car (with a person in the latter, but seen from a distant aerial view) and part of a torn away billboard smacking into and blasting away a reporter. Thousands of other deaths (if not more) are implied. Frank playfully whacks Jason on the back of the head for being friendly with a woman. Helicopters in flight suddenly encounter ultra-cold air that instantly freezes their fuel, causing them to crash onto the snowy ground (no explosions). One guy starts to come out of the wreckage, but instantly freezes solid. The others presumably die from the crash or freezing. Laura cuts her leg on a vehicle (we briefly see some blood disperse into the water around her). A massive tidal surge races toward Manhattan and we see the water surround the Statue of Liberty up to the chest level. It then proceeds to wash over and through Manhattan, sweeping away vehicles and presumably killing thousands of people or more (seen from a distance). The front glass of a vending machine is busted to retrieve the snacks inside. Jack's truck smashes into a snow bank (but he, Frank and Jason are okay). We see two people who've apparently died from hypothermia. A man purposefully sacrifices himself (by cutting a rope and falling a long distance to the floor below) to save two other people. We don't see the impact. A man cuts his hand on some glass, resulting in some blood. We hear that a political figure and his entourage are dead from the weather. Sam breaks a window on a stranded and abandoned freighter to get inside a room on it. Some wolves attack and one grabs J.D.'s leg, with Sam beating it off with a flashlight. Reviewed May 26, 2004 / Posted May 28, 2004