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(About Our Ads) "ONCE" (2007) (Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild None Moderate None None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None Heavy Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Mild Mild Moderate None QUICK TAKE: Drama/Musical: Two songwriters discover that they're kindred spirits as they bond over their love of music and their failed romantic relationships. PLOT: Guy (GLEN HANSARD) is a singer-songwriter who performs his songs on the streets of Dublin when not working in the vacuum repair shop run by his dad (BILL HODNETT). During the day, he performs popular covers in order to make some extra cash from passersby, but at night, he does his own work where he sings about his girlfriend dumping him and moving to London. His talent doesn't escape the attention of Girl (MARKÉTA IRGLOVÁ), a Czech immigrant who sells flowers and such on the streets to support her young daughter and mother (DANUSE KTRESTOVA). She also laments the loss of a loved one -- her estranged husband back home, and expresses that through some of her own songwriting, although she doesn't perform any of it publicly. That is, until the two end up doing an impromptu duet together in a music store and realize they have something together. Unsure of whether they should pursue a romantic relationship while still longing for their previous significant others, they hang out, write music, and ultimately try to score some recording studio time to have their tracks laid down professionally. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Teens into folksy rock music and/or those looking for something un-Hollywood-like might be enticed by it. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: GLEN HANSARD plays the emotionally tortured singer-songwriter who performs his own compositions when not working for his dad repairing vacuums. While longing for the girlfriend who dumped him, he finds himself drawn to Girl as a friend, fellow musician, and potential lover, although the latter is never acted upon. He uses strong profanity. MARKÉTA IRGLOVÁ plays a Czech immigrant who sells flowers and such on the streets to support her young daughter and mother, all while wondering about her estranged relationship with her husband who's still back home. She ends up meeting Guy, but isn't sure of her talents as a songwriter, or whether she should pursue him romantically. She does end up making music with him, and uses some strong profanity. 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/musical. Profanity consists of at least 39 "f' words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related comments are made, and a man propositions a woman to spend the night with him, but she declines. Some bad attitudes are present, there's brief talk of parental deaths of the past, and a woman is estranged from her husband. Some brief drinking and smoking also occur, while a man makes what could be interpreted as a drug-related visual joke. 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. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, a great deal of handheld camerawork (much of it bouncy) occurs throughout the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE We see word-based advertisements for a commercial beer (around what's presumably a pub). We see various beer and wine bottles on a table around which various singers and musicians sit, perform, and occasionally drink. Guy and his band have beer bottles around them during a recording session. Guy holds up some sort of hose in a recording studio and playfully acts as if he's inhaling from it (possibly a drug-related joke). BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE A punk grabs Guy's soft-shell guitar case and takes off running (for the money/tips inside it). Guy gives chase and the man eventually gives up from being tired. Guy takes his father's motorcycle without his permission (to go riding with Girl). A recording studio technician initially has a bad attitude toward Guy and his impromptu band, saying (on the phone) that he's "Stuck here at the studio with a bunch of f*cking oddballs." He also doesn't pay attention to the recording levels when they start (but once he hears how good they are, he comes around). Girl ends up lying to Guy when she says she'll come over in the afternoon the day before he leaves for London (her not showing up results in that being a lie). FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Thick accents make some of the dialogue hard to understand, so the following should be considered a minimum: Phrases: "Don't f*cking..." "So f*ck off," "F*ck's sake," "Don't f*cking rob me," "It is f*cked," "F*ck her," "F*ck this," "I f*cked up," "F*ck you, batteries," "Would go f*cking crazy," "Stuck here at the studio with a bunch of f*cking oddballs," "It sounds f*cking brilliant," "It's f*cking brilliant," "Bullsh*t," "Sh*tty," "Jesus, man," "Sucker" and "He's an idiot." The film could inspire some kids to take up songwriting (a positive thing). We see miscellaneous graffiti. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) Guy sings a song with the lyric, "I want to make love to you." Guy sings (with guitar accompaniment) several answers to Girl's questions, and uses the "f" word in his "lyrics." PROFANITY Thick accents make some of the dialogue hard to understand, so the following should be considered a minimum: At least 39 "f" words, 2 "s" words, 1 slang term for sex ("screwed"), 1 damn and 2 uses of "Jesus." SEX/NUDITY Guy sings a song with the lyric, "I want to make love to you." Guy tells Girl that his girlfriend "went and screwed some guy she knew." Guy asks Girl if she wants to stay the night, but she's taken aback by the question and leaves. He apologizes the next day for that. After Guy invites Girl back to his place the last day before he leaves for London, she says it would just lead to some hanky-panky if she did (so she doesn't). SMOKING Guy's dad smokes a few times, as do some miscellaneous characters. TENSE FAMILY SCENES A robber seems to ask about Guy's mom and the latter says she's dead (somewhat thick accents made this exchange hard to understand). Girl states her father killed himself (sometime in the past). When asked about the father of her daughter, Girl simply states he doesn't live there and doesn't say much more about that. Later, however, we learn she's married 3 years (from the time she learned she was pregnant), but doesn't think it works between them. However, at the end of the film, we see her and her husband together, seemingly happy. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Singer-songwriters. Relationships. Life in cities outside the U.S. Guy being hung up on his ex-girlfriend and thus writing most of his songs about her, the breakup, and more. How the movie is a musical without the characters unrealistically breaking into song and/or dance as occurs in most such usual films. That's Girl's building only has one communal TV (meaning the neighbors come over to her place to watch it). VIOLENCE None. Reviewed April 24, 2007 / Posted May 25, 2007