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"INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS"
(2007) (Brenda Blethyn, Khan Chittenden) (R)

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


QUICK TAKE:
Dramedy: A middle-aged variety performer tries to resurrect her one-time flirtation with fame, all while dealing with her young adult sons living with her, including one who's awkwardly trying to love the young woman of his dreams.
PLOT:
At one point in her life, Jean Dwight (BRENDA BLETHYN) was about to become famous as a variety act performer. Then she met singer John (FRANKIE J. HOLDEN), had two kids, and watched fleeting fame pass her by. Now divorced, with mover Tim (KHAN CHITTENDEN) and mentally challenged Mark (RICHARD WILSON) still living at home, Jean works in a kitchen but is still doing the ribald stand-up comedy act for small Aussie audiences.

While she dates successful performer Ronnie Stubbs (PHILIP QUAST) when not drinking with her best friend, Lana (REBECCA GIBNEY), she hopes and expects that her manager, Shane (RUSSELL DYKSTRA), will land her a gig that will once again put her in the limelight that ever so briefly once shone on her.

At the same time, Tim ends up falling for auto shop receptionist Jill (EMMA BOOTH) when moving her and her roommate, Kelly (KATIE WALL), from one apartment to the next. With the larger than life Jean as his only real source about women, Tim isn't sure how to act around the more sexually assertive Jill, thus leading to difficulties in and out of the bed for the budding couple.

With his mom still attempting to control every aspect of his and Mark's lives while also resurrecting her career, Tim must figure out how to deal with the impact of that on his relationship with Jill, as well as the guilt trip that Jean lays on her boys for what she believes was their presence stymieing her career back then and now.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're a fan of someone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For sexual content and language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • BRENDA BLETHYN plays a middle-aged, variety performer of ribald material who's flirted with fame, but blames her lack of success on having her sons. Despite them now being adults, she still tries to control them, especially since they still live at home. She drinks and then seems to have a drinking problem, uses strong profanity, and isn't nice to Jill.
  • KHAN CHITTENDEN plays her son who works as a mover, falls for and has sex with Jill, and becomes increasingly annoyed by his mother's treatment of him, Mark, and Jill. He uses some strong profanity.
  • EMMA BOOTH plays the young woman who falls for and has sex with him, but has mixed feelings about how she feels about their relationship. She also has self-body issues (thinking her chest is too small), uses strong profanity, and doesn't like the way Jean treats her boys or her.
  • RICHARD WILSON plays Tim's older brother who has a disability from birth that's resulted in him still living at home. Sometimes independent and sometimes not, he briefly uses strong profanity.
  • KATIE WALL plays Jill's friend who has a conflicted attitude about Jill's involvement with Tim.
  • FRANKIE J. HOLDEN plays the boys' dad, now divorced from Jean, who works as a security guard but hopes to resurrect his singing career that long ago yielded him one brief hit single. He drinks some.
  • REBECCA GIBNEY plays Jean's friend who drinks quite a bit.
  • RUSSELL DYKSTRA plays Jean's manager who drinks a little and tries to get her various performance gigs.
  • PHILIP QUAST plays a successful singer who's interested in Jean, but is also full of himself and his accomplishments.
  • 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 dramedy. Profanity consists of at least 11 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as are varying degrees of sexual encounters (ranging from clothed making out to implied oral sex and intercourse), with movement, nudity and sounds. Nonsexual nudity (bare breasts) and scantly clad women are also present.

    Some behavior (including various verbal and visual sexual jokes) might be enticing for some kids to imitate, while various bad attitudes are present. That includes an overbearing mother who blames her young adult sons on fame passing her by. That leads to some tense family material, that also includes a prior divorce.

    Various characters drink (two to the point of indicating they have problems with that), while there's a brief one-car accident where no one is hurt.

    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, there's some of that from flashing emergency lights at night.

    For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some bouncy, handheld camera movement in some home movie footage.



    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Lana complains about her husband or ex-husband calling her a "drunken slag" (the term "pissed" is also used) and worries about custody of their kids.
  • Shane brings drinks over for Jean and himself.
  • We see what looks like a wine bottle by Tim and Jill, but what they're having looks like water.
  • Jean grabs a bottle of booze (in reaction to Tim saying he's not coming home that night).
  • Miscellaneous people drink at Jill's family party.
  • Jean has a drink.
  • Shane brings over some champagne to celebrate good news about Jean's career, with him, Jean, and Lana then having some.
  • We see Lana passed out in Tim's truck.
  • Jean has another drink.
  • Lana is drunk and drinking more, while Jean has a drink, as does, it appears, Jill.
  • Miscellaneous people have drinks.
  • Jean drinks some more, and is then drunk and mean.
  • John gets out a beer for Tim and himself, and then goes to get more as they talk.
  • Lana arrives carrying a bottle, and she and Shane drink some of its contents, as does John when he arrives and after Lana says they should have another drink. Inside, Jean is drunk and belligerent as she packs things to move.
  • Miscellaneous people have drinks at a wedding reception.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • None.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Kelly eavesdrops on Tim and Jill's sexual encounter, doing some sarcastic commentary on the phone to someone else about what's occurring.
  • Jean lays various guilt trips on her boys, but puts a slight comedic touch on them. She also has a bad attitude toward Jill (in many scenes, until the very end when she changes her ways).
  • Lana and Jill talk during another performer's show, angering Jean about them not being polite.
  • Jean embarrasses Tim by calling him up on stage during a performance (along with two other men) and having him perform in drag in front of her audience. He initially doesn't want to, but then seems to get into it.
  • Some executives are rude as they chat and generally don't pay attention to Jean's solo audition for them.
  • Jean refers to Mark as John's "spastic son."
  • Jean blames her woes on having married John (and having kids by him).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • To avoid Mark who's suddenly in the middle of the road, Tim ends up crashing his delivery truck into a parked dumpster, damaging the front of his truck (no one is hurt).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • John wears a sidearm on the job as a security guard.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "F*cking stay there," "Where the f*ck am I?" "The woman is a f*cking nightmare," "Don't f*cking mum me," "Why don't you f*ck off home?" "You're getting in that f*cking truck," "You f*cked it up," "F*ck that," "F*ck the lot of you," "F*cking do something," "The little sh*t," "We're up sh*t creek," "Bullsh*t," "Oh sh*t," "You just scared the sh*t out of them," "You drunken slag," "The pr*ck," "The horizontal tango" (sex), "Good evening ladies and genitalia fondling enthusiasts," "No hard feelings" (followed by "You can say that again," meant sexually), "Look at that angel's ass," "While you're banging away on the top of Rachel Ray," "You listen to me, sex god," "Have you always been a pr*ck, or are you just practicing?" "Shake a leg," "Pissed" (drunk), "Bastards," "Bloody," "Will you give it a rest?" "Jeez," "Shut up," "Bloke," "You bitch" (playfully, from one girl to another), "Nutty kids," "Bugger it," "Piss off," "Tell him he's an asshole," "Up yours," "What am I supposed to do with my ratatouille? Shove it up my ass?" "You really are a dork, aren't you?" "That's bloody good," "You're driving me mental," "You little bugger," "Control freak," "She doesn't know a damn thing about it," "Bugger it," "Smart ass," "Your spastic son," "Bugger you," "Piss off back to England," "Talking of wankers" and "What the bloody hell..?"
  • Some kids may want to repeat sexual jokes heard in the film.
  • We see that Jean and others have arranged sausages and eggs on a restaurant's grill to look like penises and testicles, with Jean jokingly asking another woman if they remind her of someone.
  • Jean uses a long, slender, and inflated (then deflated) balloon as part of an erection joke using a male stranger from the audience.
  • Lorna has a tattoo.
  • While mad at him, Jean gives "the finger" to Tim.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • None.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • A blues song has the lyric, "Make love to you baby."
  • A song has a lyric, "It's over, our love affair."
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 11 "f" words, 11 "s" words, 3 slang terms for sex ("do it," "banging" and what sounded like "rooting"), 2 using male genitals ("pr*ck"), 12 asses (4 used with "hole"), 5 buggers, 2 hells, 1 damn, 1 wanker, 6 uses of "Jesus," 5 of "Jesus Christ," 4 of "Oh my God," 3 of "Oh God," 2 of "Christ" and "Oh Jesus Christ" and 1 use of "God."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • A blues song has the lyric, "Make love to you baby."
  • While headed out, Jean says she doesn't want Tim watching a cheerleader tape (called "Get It On"), but by the cover art, it appears to be just a tape about that activity, and not anything pornographic (although he might watch it in that context in his mind).
  • Jean comments on show business being all about sex and mentions "the horizontal tango."
  • The camera focuses on some showgirls in standard attire, including close-ups of them in their bra-like tops and small bottoms. When they return to the dressing room, we see one who's now topless.
  • Jean shows varying amounts of cleavage in different tops, some of them rather low-cut.
  • Jean does various bits of sexual humor in her act, starting by saying, "Good evening ladies and genitalia fondling enthusiasts." She then talks about men grunting and groaning during sex, making a gesture and related sound mocking ejaculation. She then jokes that sex with a big bloke is not easy as it's like a wardrobe falling on you in the middle of the night, with the key still in the lock.
  • While helping Jill and Kelly move, Tim spots one of their panties, and holds up a pair. Meanwhile, Jill sees a huge wet spot down on the end of Kelly's bed, wondering what she was doing all of the way down there (the implication being it's a sexual wet spot).
  • Jean walks in and sees Mark with his hands down near his crotch in a bubble bath, but he quickly raises them and says he isn't doing anything. We only see his bare chest.
  • Tim and Jill do some passionate kissing in a parked vehicle, with him putting his hand on her clothed breast and her then encouraging that. She then apologizes for having small breasts, with him saying no, that if they were any bigger, they'd be frightening. They continue kissing, but a phone call from Jean interrupts them.
  • We see miscellaneous cleavage in a bikini top.
  • Tim and Jill passionately kiss on her bed, with his shirt open and she puts her hand on his clothed crotch. She says, "Let's do it," as she stands, in her bra, and grabs his clothed crotch in passing as she walks over to get a condom. But he's uncomfortable and says maybe he should go, prompting her to think it's about her chest size again. She then says she knows he isn't gay, and asks if he's "done it" before, but there's no answer from him (suggesting he's a virgin). She then starts to undo his pants, but upon hearing Kelly doing some sarcastic commentary on the phone to someone else about what's occurring, he grabs his clothes and rushes out. Later, when Tim calls to apologize, Jill says, "No hard feelings," with Kelly sarcastically chiming in, "You can say that again."
  • Tim and Jill do some passionate kissing in his truck.
  • Tim stays overnight with Jill, with him undressing down to his boxers. She pulls on the waistband and looks down the front of them, making a "boing" sound, but he says she better stop doing that (or he'll climax). She then asks if he wants her nightie off, but he thinks she meant the light, with her correcting him. Her top then comes off (we see her bare breasts), and she starts to stimulate him manually with her hand, asking if he wants to grope something. He replies, "Yes, please" and puts his hand on her bare breast, with him then climaxing under the covers, and she gives him some tissues for that.
  • We see that Jean and others have arranged sausages and eggs on a restaurant's grill to look like penises and testicles, with Jean jokingly asking another woman if they remind her of someone.
  • Hearing that he's in Jean's house, Kelly asks, "Ronnie Stubbs is in your house?" prompting Tim to reply sarcastically that Ronnie would "like to be in our mother."
  • We see a close-up, rear view of Jill in her panties, and then a full shot of her in them and her bra in front of Tim. We then see a full side view of her standing fully nude against a wall, while Tim kisses along her belly. While no direct oral sex contact is seen, her pleasured reactions (sounds and body movement) suggest that's occurring when the camera isn't showing that part of her body.
  • Jean uses a long, slender, and inflated (then deflated) balloon as part of an erection joke using a male stranger from the audience.
  • We see Jill in a small bikini, with Jean commenting to Lana about her, "Look at that angel's ass."
  • We see several views of Jill having sex on top of Tim, fully nude, with movement and related sounds (although they're making small talk about something nonsexual). He climaxes, and she says they can "do it" every night of the week if he wants. This ends, with them embracing as both sit upright, with her still facing him on his lap.
  • About staying with Jill and Kelly, Jean asks where Mark will stay while Tim is "banging away on the top of Rachel Ray" (referring to Jill).
  • Jean starts to tell Tim something by sarcastically saying, "You listen to me, sex god."
  • Jean does another stand-up bit, including talk of her ex saying blow-up dolls are more exciting in bed, adding that he should know. She then gives advice to women to have sex on an empty stomach so that when the man climbs on top of them in the middle of the night, they don't get sick.
  • Jean comments on something while her ex, John, was "rooting" (or something sounding like that) a cocktail waitress in Cabo.
  • After Tim tells Jean that he loves Jill, he adds that he wants to have sex with Jill, constantly.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Lana complains about her husband or ex-husband calling her a "drunken slag" (the term "pissed" is also used) and worries about custody of their kids.
  • We hear that Tim's parents are divorced.
  • Jean lays various guilt trips on her boys, but puts a slight comedic touch on them.
  • Jean becomes quite upset when Mark ends up missing, but he's quickly found at a neighbor's house with their dog.
  • Tim confronts Jean about the way she's treating all of them, so she kicks all of them out of her house. The next day, Jean gives "the finger" to Tim.
  • Jean tells Tim that he and Mark are on their own now, that she's "breaking up the act."
  • Jean is drunk and belligerent as she packs things to move, and she throws some things at John when he arrives.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Jean comments on show business being all about sex.
  • Jean lays various guilt trips on her boys, but puts a slight comedic touch on them.
  • Tim being embarrassed that his parents are entertainers.
  • There's talk of a neighbor having a mastectomy, and later dying from breast cancer.
  • We hear that Mark suffered brain damage at birth when the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck.
  • Jean blames her woes on having married John (and having kids by him).
  • VIOLENCE
  • John grabs Tim and has his hand over his mouth, but is just fooling around with him.
  • Jean slaps Mark on the back of the head for earlier wandering off.
  • To avoid Mark who's suddenly in the middle of the road, Tim ends up crashing his delivery truck into a parked dumpster, damaging the front of his truck (no one is hurt).
  • Jean is drunk and belligerent as she packs things to move, and she throws some things at John when he arrives.



  • Reviewed July 2, 2007 / Posted July 13, 2007

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