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"A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION" (2006) (Garrison Keillor, Meryl Streep) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Minor Moderate Minor Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None Moderate Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence *Moderate Mild None Moderate Minor QUICK TAKE: Dramedy: The cast and crew of a popular, folksy radio program prepare for their last show. PLOT: With their historic theater slated for demolition, the cast and crew of a popular, variety style radio program prepare for their last show. The folksy host, Garrison Keillor (GARRISON KEILLOR), doesn't seem fazed by their swan song, since he's always viewed their latest performance as potentially their last. As security guard Guy Noir (KEVIN KLINE) keeps dibs on a Dangerous Woman (VIRGINIA MADSEN) who's shown up backstage, very pregnant stage manager Molly (MAYA RUDOLPH) tries to keep Keillor and his various performers on time. They include sisters Yolanda (MERYL STREEP) and Rhonda Johnson (LILY TOMLIN), the singing duo remainder of a former quartet. While Yolanda's daughter Lola (LINDSAY LOHAN) delves into suicidal poetry, her mom and aunt reminisce about the good old times. Another old-time act consists of Dusty (WOODY HARRELSON) and Lefty (JOHN C. REILLY), two cowpokes who alternate between country ditties and bad when not risqué jokes, while old country crooner Chuck Akers (L.Q. JONES) is sweet on lunch lady Evelyn (MARYLOUISE BURKE). Despite the arrival of the corporate Axeman (TOMMY LEE JONES), the cast and crew keep the show going toward its final conclusion, all while Guy tries to figure out what the mysterious woman -- who turns out to be an angel of death -- wants with them. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of the radio show or someone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For risqué humor. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: GARRISON KEILLOR plays the genial, folksy host of the program who doesn't seem to mind that this is their last show. KEVIN KLINE plays the throwback gumshoe type head of security who's a bit full of himself but spends much of his time trying to figure out the mysterious woman who's arrived on the set. He also smokes several times and drinks some. MERYL STREEP plays one half of a sisterly singing duo who reminisces about the good old days as well as her past fling with Keillor. LILY TOMLIN plays her more realistic and grounded sister. LINDSAY LOHAN plays Yolanda's daughter who spends her time penning poetry about suicide before getting her big break on the show. WOODY HARRELSON plays an old-timey cowpoke who tells risqué jokes when not singing old cowboy ditties with Lefty. JOHN C. REILLY plays his performance partner who does the same and has a flatulence issue. VIRGINIA MADSEN plays a mysterious but serene woman who appears backstage and turns out to be an angel of death after one of the people there. MAYA RUDOLPH plays the very pregnant stage manager who tries to juggle the strict times and varied personalities on the show. L.Q. JONES plays an old country singer who's having a fling with the lunch lady character played by MARYLOUISE BURKE. TOMMY LEE JONES plays the corporate axe-man who's arrived to witness the last show but has no sympathy for its demise. 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 dramedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "s" word and several playful slang terms for body parts, while other expletives and colorful phrases are used. Sexually related dialogue, jokes and song lyrics are present, an older woman goes into a man's dressing room looking for sex but finds him dead in his boxers (from natural causes), and various amounts of cleavage are present. As are some bad attitudes, while various characters smoke and/or drink. Some crude humor is present, while we hear that a limo crashed and presumably killed the occupant, all related to a supporting character that's portrayed as an angel of death (but beyond the theme and duty, she's not presented as scary). Meanwhile, a young adult woman writes poetry about suicide and such matters. 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 Dusty does a song bit backstage where he says a woman wanted liquor, adds "lick her I did" and then says that he no longer works there. Guy pours liquor from his flask into a cup. We see a bottle of whiskey on Rhonda's dressing table. She then has some. Guy has liquor from his flask. Guy says he needs a drink and thus scoots up onto a bar counter, but then slides him, landing on the floor (we don't see the impact). He then opens champagne for Molly and himself and both gulp theirs down. Molly drinks champagne despite being pregnant. Evelyn drinks. Upset at Dusty's medley of risqué lyrics, a stage manager tells Rhonda, "Let's get snookered." Guy picks up a bust and tells the object, "Let me buy you a drink." BLOOD/GORE Lola complains that a dress is the color of vomit. Lefty farts. Lefty farts, and then does so again while walking away. Dusty does lyrics about a dog that "pissed" on a man's shoe and left him a "piece of beef" (presumably excrement). Another line is about a man being given a toilet brush but then saying that he preferred toilet paper, while a third is that diarrhea is hereditary in that it runs in your jeans. He then sings about what you get when you add holy water with castor oil (the answer being "a religious movement"). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Guy suddenly lifts Molly's shirt, exposing her pregnant belly. He then says that she's fat, that she should avoid beer and "maybe sex with men," and comments that she's going to be a single mom. The Axeman refers to seeing Garrison's show as being an anthropologist discovering a lost tribe, and later says watching it through glass is like being at a zoo. Molly drinks champagne despite being pregnant. Dusty sings a medley of joke-based lyrics, including that PMS was named that since mad cow disease was already taken. Later, he sings about what you get when you add holy water with castor oil (the answer being "a religious movement"). FRIGHTENING SCENES Molly acts like she's going into labor, but then shows that she's faking it (as a means of getting Garrison to stop telling a story and get to the stage). The Dangerous Woman follows a man backstage and since no one but Guy has been able to see her, we know something is up. Evelyn goes into Chuck's dressing room where he's slouched in his chair in a shirt and boxers. She playfully drops some innuendo, but then realizes that he's dead. The Dangerous Woman walks in on a number of people (who think they might be next to die, but nothing happens). GUNS/WEAPONS Dusty has a real or fake pistol that he briefly handles before holstering it. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Holy sh*t," "It's about damn time," "I'm all verklempt," "Dope," "Freeze our butts off," "To hell with it," "Potato face," "Hell she did," "You sons of bitches," "Shut the pie hole," "Moron," "Old spud butt," "We care like hell," "Gotta find his mouth to kick him in the ass," "Bastard" and "He was no damn good." Some kids may be enticed to imitate the jokes and/or risqué comedy bits heard during the show. Lola is obsessed with death and suicide, and even reads a poem she wrote about the latter (including a line about attaching a hose to a car's tailpipe). Guy suddenly lifts Molly's shirt, exposing her pregnant belly. He then says that she's fat, that she should avoid beer and "maybe sex with men," and comments that she's going to be a single mom. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) Dusty does a song bit backstage where he says a woman wanted liquor, adds "lick her I did" and then says that he no longer works there. Dusty does lyrics about a dog that "pissed" on a man's shoe and left him a "piece of beef" (presumably excrement). Another line is about a man being given a toilet brush but then saying that he preferred toilet paper, while a third is that diarrhea is hereditary in that it runs in your jeans. He then sings about what you get when you add holy water with castor oil (the answer being "a religious movement"). Dusty does a song that includes various sexual jokes including the following (paraphrased): He says that God created woman with three breasts and used the extra "boob" to create man. Another bit is about a woman offering "super sex" to an old man who replied he'd rather have the soup, while another is about a man who bred his bull a thousand times. When the wife says he could learn from it, the man says it was a heck of a bull, but it wasn't always with the same cow. Another joke is about Viagra thieves and that the police were looking for hardened criminals, while yet another is about a man saying he knew his wife was dead. When asked how he knew, he replied that the sex was the same but the dishes were stacking up. Another is that an elephant told a naked man that it (his penis) was cute but "can you breath through that thing?" A song has words such as "damn" and "bastard" in it. PROFANITY At least 1 "s" word, 2 slang terms for male genitals ("pony" and "hot dog"), 1 for female ones ("bun"), 4 for breasts ("boob" and "jugs"), 6 hells, 5 damns, 4 asses, 1 S.O.B., 5 uses of "Oh my God," 3 of "Oh God," 2 each of "God" and "Swear to God" and 1 use of "Christ." SEX/NUDITY Dusty does a song bit backstage where he says a woman wanted liquor, adds "lick her I did" and then says that he no longer works there. Yolanda shows cleavage in her top. At one point, her shirt is undone up top and we can see the top of her bra as well as more cleavage that she adjusts in front of Garrison. We see Garrison in his boxers (and a dress shirt) as he preps to do the show. Molly tells Garrison to "check your barn doors" (pants zipper -- before the show) and later tells him that it's open (we don't see anything other than the motion of him zipping up). Describing the Dangerous Woman before we ever see her, Guy says she was wearing a skirt so tight you could read the embroidery on her underwear, and that she was wearing a Mount Rushmore shirt. He then adds that two of the presidents never looked so good, even if they appeared a bit bloated (meaning the ones over her breasts). He then says that she was out of his life as quickly and erotically as she entered it. Rhonda shows a little cleavage. Yolanda talks of a person getting their tubes tied. Dusty complains that Lefty's "butt crack" is showing, but we don't see anything and he's fully clothed. We learn that Yolanda and Garrison had some sort of fling in the past. We see Chuck nuzzling on Evelyn backstage, with her giggling over that. Garrison tells Lola a story from his past about spotting a naked man holding onto a kite (the man being Lola's father, but we only hear the story). Guy suddenly lifts Molly's shirt, exposing her pregnant belly. He then says that she's fat, that she should avoid beer and "maybe sex with men," and comments that she's going to be a single mom. The stage manager complains of Dusty's risqué lyrics in a previous show, with Dusty wondering if that was the one about giving a woman moonshine if she shows him her "jugs." The manager then mentions a line about "ride my pony" and there's another bit of innuendo. Molly shows some cleavage. Evelyn goes into Chuck's dressing room where he's slouched in his chair in a shirt and boxers. She playfully says she's looking for a big hot dog to put into her bun, but then realizes that he's dead. Later, Rhonda says she heard he had massage oil there and that Chuck was "loaded for Evelyn." Referring to sex, Guy asks the Dangerous Woman (knowing she's an angel), "If you and I...would you feel anything?" She then says she'd feel love, and then walks away. Dusty does a song that includes various sexual jokes including the following (paraphrased): He says that God created woman with three breasts and used the extra "boob" to create man. Another bit is about a woman offering "super sex" to an old man who replied he'd rather have the soup, while another is about a man who bred his bull a thousand times. When the wife says he could learn from it, the man says it was a heck of a bull, but it wasn't always with the same cow. Another joke is about Viagra thieves and that the police were looking for hardened criminals, while yet another is about a man saying he knew his wife was dead. When asked how he knew, he replied that the sex was the same but the dishes were stacking up. Another is that an elephant told a naked man that it (his penis) was cute but "can you breath through that thing?" SMOKING Guy smokes several times (and even rolls a cigarette), Dusty smokes once (and has an unlit cigar) while a miscellaneous person smokes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Radio shows of old that featured variety acts. Guy's comment that Midwesterners think that if they ignore bad news, it might go away. Lola is obsessed with death and suicide, and even reads a poem she wrote about the latter (including a line about attaching a hose to a car's tailpipe). Yolanda has an optimistic view on life. Yolanda talks of a person getting their tubes tied. Garrison's philosophy that every show is his last. Lefty tells Lola that he met Dusty in prison, but we don't know if that's true. The Dangerous Woman's comment that the death of an old man is not a tragedy. The Dangerous Woman talks to Garrison, saying that she ran off the road while listening to his show and ran into a tree (in the past, and not seen). VIOLENCE Guy accidentally bangs his head on a desk when he tries to pop up from under it. Guy says he needs a drink and thus scoots up onto a bar counter, but then slides him, landing on the floor (we don't see the impact). We hear that a limo crashed into a tree and exploded (presumably killing the driver and passenger but we never know anymore about that and nothing is seen). Reviewed April 4, 2006 / Posted June 9, 2006

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