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"THE HONEYMOONERS" (2005) (Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Minor Heavy Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Minor None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Minor Moderate Moderate Minor QUICK TAKE: Comedy: With the aid of his sewer worker buddy, a bus driver tries his hand at his latest get rich quick scheme, much to the chagrin of his long-suffering wife who just wants to buy a house. PLOT: City bus driver Ralph Kramden (CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER) and his upstairs best friend, sewer worker Ed Norton (MIKE EPPS), have known each other for a long time and have thus gone through a wide variety of failed entrepreneurial efforts - a.k.a. get rich quick schemes -- over the years. Yet, that doesn't deter Ralph, although it annoys his wife, Alice (GABRIELLE UNION), who works as a waitress at a diner with Ed's wife Trixie (REGINA HALL) but dreams of owning their own place some day. She thinks she might have a shot to buy an elderly woman's home with Trixie and thus keep real estate developer William Davis (ERIC STOLTZ) from getting his hands on the property, but realizes they don't have enough for a down payment. Thus, she asks her mom (CAROL WOODS) for some financial help, much to Ralph's chagrin. Besides, he's sure one of his latest endeavors -- including purchasing an old train car that's in the subterranean sewer system, and later owning a racing greyhound -- will pay off. The latter involves getting track owner Kirby (JON POLITO) to allow them to enter a race and then get small-time criminal Dodge (JOHN LEGUIZAMO) to train their dog. As the big race day nears and Alice is unaware of him raiding their savings account to support his latest idea, Ralph hopes he'll score big and thus climb out of his life of mediocrity. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of someone in the cast, they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For some innuendo and rude humor. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER plays a city bus driver who's always coming up with new ways to get rich quick, and taps into his and Alice's meager savings account to do so (without asking her). He uses some mild profanity. MIKE EPPS plays his best friend and accomplice in the money-making schemes who is a sewer worker. He uses a bit of mild profanity. GABRIELLE UNION plays Ralph's wife who works at a diner, but is tired of living paycheck to paycheck and having to deal with Ralph tapping into their savings to finance his harebrained ideas. She sets her goals on buying their own house and uses a little bit of profanity. REGINA HALL plays Ed's wife who works with Alice at the diner. ERIC STOLTZ plays a businessman who will do anything to stymie Alice's attempts to buy a property he wants. JON POLITO plays the owner of a greyhound racetrack who initially agrees to let Norton and Ralph race their dog, but reneges when Davis pays him to scratch their entry. JOHN LEGUIZAMO plays the small-time criminal who agrees to train Norton and Ralph's greyhound for racing. CAROL WOODS plays Alice's mom who doesn't like Ralph and makes no bones about how she feels. 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 comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of a number of mild expletives, while some colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present in several scenes. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (mostly played for comedy), while some slapstick style material is present as is some behavior that might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Some characters drink (and a brief drug reference is present) and one smokes (while an unlit cigar and cigarette are present), some tense family material occurs (a wife kicking her husband out the house for him being selfish and spending all of their money), and a bit of crude humor is present. 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. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE An older woman asks Ralph, "What's your poison? Gambling? Drink? Ho's?" (whores) Alice's mom arrives, carrying a box of wine for which she says she's taking back whatever they don't drink. We later see wine in front of her, Alice and Ralph. Noting Ralph's odd behavior, Alice's mom asks him, "You're on the pipe, aren't you?" After the guys state that their dog can run fast (but isn't now), Dodge asks Ralph if he was drinking at the time. Dodge then wants to give the dog some sort of unidentified pills to make it race better, but that never happens. Miscellaneous people have drinks at a reception where Norton drinks a little and Davis brings a bottle of champagne over for himself and Kirby. The two couples and Dodge have beer in front of them outside with dinner. BLOOD/GORE While down in the city sewer system, Norton comments on knowing he doesn't smell good from that. About training dogs, Dodge states that he does not pick up "excreta." Norton states that some shrimp gave him "bubble guts." Norton picks his nose at a reception and then puts the unseen booger into a serving dish. While making their way under the city through its sewer system (and supposedly walking through sewage-tainted water), Ralph falls into a hole and goes completely under the filthy water. Later, when he walks into the diner where Alice works, he leaves dark footprints on the floor from said waste material. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Talking about the noisy plumbing but also Alice, Ralph states that it makes a little noise, "but so do you...I've learned to live with it." Ralph repeatedly takes money from his and Alice's meager savings account for his "entrepreneurial" ideas, and does so without informing her. The guys decide to deceive a competitive bidder for an old train car they wish to buy. They inform him that the picture of it at an auction isn't right, and then Norton keeps the bidder outside as the bidding occurs (so that Ralph can win it). One of the guys states (about making money), "We need to pimp some midgets." The guys discover that someone put a greyhound in a bag in a construction dumpster. We see a montage of Ralph and Norton doing various things to try to make quick money (old fashioned hip-hop "dancing," acting blind on the street corner, asking for donations for a fake organization). Some of Ralph and Norton's money spills and some nearby kids grab some of it and run away. Ralph and Norton talk about how certain female celebrities' bodies are shaped (pear shaped, etc.). We see Dodge siphoning gasoline from one car to another using a hose and his mouth (he's stealing it). Ralph and Alice's mom have bad attitudes toward each other, including with Ralph calling her "woman." Ralph puts cayenne pepper into his mother-in-law's food, but ends up having to eat it when their plates are switched. Norton convinces Ralph to sneak out of their apartment, despite Ralph knowing he has to be there to ask Alice's mom for money. Dodge breaks into the greyhound racetrack at night so that he can train Norton and Ralph's dog. After the guys state that their dog can run fast (but isn't now), Dodge asks Ralph if he was drinking at the time. Dodge then wants to give the dog some sort of unidentified pills to make it race better, but that never happens. Ralph tells a young man that it's important to let the wife know who's boss. Dodge states that he doesn't want to marry a certain woman for her money, but then adds that he doesn't know how else to get it. We hear that Davis paid Kirby to scratch Norton and Ralph's dog from the big race. He also does what he can to undermine Alice's attempt at buying the property he wants. Norton picks his nose at a reception and then puts the unseen booger into a serving dish. Some viewers may see dog racing and/or gambling as being wrong. After Norton manages to bungle a race by inadvertently distracting their dog, Ralph is mad at Norton, stating the dog is just a dumb animal but then asks Norton what is excuse is. He then states that their friendship is over (he later apologizes for that). FRIGHTENING SCENES The guys discover a greyhound trapped in a bag in a construction dumpster. They then remove it just in time as debris falls down the adjacent construction chute and into the dumpster. Part of a fire escape falls away from beneath them, resulting in Ralph and Norton hanging from a rung above them (but they drop down a few feet to safety and it's played for comedy). GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Bust it up," "I'll take you to the moon," "Damn, you smart," "You're certifiable," "This is bad," "You're Gladys Knight without the Pips," "Idiot," "Oh hell yeah," "(Oh) Hell no," "My bad," a possible "Retarded," "Yada, yada," "Suckers," "Gotta bounce," "Half-assed," "What do you think I am, Weezy Jefferson?" "Just chill man," "Bitches" (dogs), "You're not buying any of this crap, are you?" "I'm screwed," "Stop hating," "When you hear that bell, run like hell," "Put it all on your family jewels," "Piss and moan" and what sounded like "Balls" (testicles). Ralph does various dance moves from the waist up while driving his empty city bus. Talking about the noisy plumbing but also Alice, Ralph states that it makes a little noise, "but so do you...I've learned to live with it." One of the guys states (about making money), "We need to pimp some midgets." We see a montage of Ralph and Norton doing various things to try to make quick money (old fashioned hip-hop "dancing," acting blind on the street corner, asking for donations for a fake organization). Dodge wears a cigarette over his ear. We see Dodge siphoning gasoline from one car to another using a hose and his mouth. Ralph puts cayenne pepper into his mother-in-law's food, but ends up having to eat it when their plates are switched. Dodge tells Norton and Ralph's dog, "You win, you get the bitches." Norton picks his nose at a reception and then puts the unseen booger into a serving dish. Ralph reaches into a fire in a barrel to retrieve a piece of paper (and reacts to the heat on and/or burning his hand). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A tiny bit of comedy-based, suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 11 damns, 4 asses, 4 hells, 1 crap and 1 use each of "God," "My God" and "Oh Jesus." SEX/NUDITY Ralph tells Alice that he's the operator of "this machine" (his city bus) and "this machine" (referring to his body as he licks his fingers and rubs them suggestively over his eyebrows and/or forehead). Talking about plumbing, Norton states that he does his best work "down below," with Trixie suggestively confirming that's true. After wanting to call both heads and tails during a coin toss, Norton states, "I got a big appetite for tails too" (possible sexual innuendo on the part of the film). An older woman asks Ralph, "What's your poison? Gambling? Drink? Ho's?" (whores) One of the guys states (about making money), "We need to pimp some midgets." Alice shows just a tiny bit of cleavage. Ralph and Norton talk about how certain female celebrities' bodies are shaped (pear shaped, etc.). Dodge tells Ralph and Norton (about their dog training arrangement), "We're a partnership now -- a ménage à trois" (not realizing what he's really saying). Thinking he's going to die, Norton confesses to Ralph that he once accidentally saw Alice naked and "sometimes I think about her." Talking about a woman he knew in the past with a low body-fat count, Dodge states that she was flexible, but didn't have enough soft places, asking Ralph and Norton if they know what he means. SMOKING Dodge wears a cigarette over his ear. We see Ralph with an unlit cigar in his mouth Davis smokes once. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Ralph and Alice do some bickering about their financial state. Ralph repeatedly takes money from his and Alice's meager savings account for his "entrepreneurial" ideas, and does so without informing her. That eventually leads to some tense marital moments for them. Alice's mom tells Alice's boss that she's buried two husbands (but not said in a sad fashion). Alice kicks Ralph out of their place for his years of being selfish and spending their money on his harebrained schemes. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Get rich quick schemes. Having an entrepreneurial spirit. Ralph repeatedly takes money from his and Alice's meager savings account for his "entrepreneurial" ideas, and does so without informing her. That eventually leads to some tense marital moments for them. We see Dodge siphoning gasoline from one car to another using a hose and his mouth. Ralph tells a young man that it's important to let the wife know who's boss. Some viewers may see dog racing and/or gambling as being wrong. VIOLENCE There are various bits of slapstick material, including Norton excitedly running up on his sofa but falling off the back and landing hard on the floor; Norton accidentally hits his head hard on a sewer pipe; Norton accidentally slaps himself in the face; and Norton falls off a piano bench. A billiards ball struck by Norton accidentally strikes a man on the head in a bar or pool hall. We then see an exterior view of that man and/or others pushing Norton and/or Ralph up against some closed blinds in that bar (but we don't see the actual impact). Ralph reaches into a fire in a barrel to retrieve a piece of paper (and reacts to the heat on and/or burning his hand). Reviewed June 7, 2005 / Posted June 10, 2005

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