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(About Our Ads) "EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED" (2008) (Documentary) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons *None Mild *Heavy Mild Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None Minor None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild Mild None Heavy Mild QUICK TAKE: Documentary: A look at whether academia and the scientific community are quelling those who question Darwinism in favor of Intelligent Design. PLOT: Actor Ben Stein investigates whether academia and the scientific community in general are systematically attempting to quell those who question Darwinism in favor of Intelligent Design. Interviewing people on both sides of the debate, Stein examines the various issues pertaining to both sets of theories. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're interested in the subject matter, it's not terribly likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For thematic material, some disturbing images and brief smoking. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: Ben Stein appears as himself, serving as the film's narrator and interviewer, while everyone else also appears as themselves, including those who belief in Intelligent Design and those who believe in Darwinism. 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 PG-rated documentary. Profanity consists of one minor expletive, while a handful of colorful phrases are present. A cartoon figure shows a non-explicit amount of drawn cleavage, while an image of the Vitruvian Man shows a da Vinci sketch of a nude man (full frontal, but the image is small). Archival footage shows various military weapons (machine guns, rifles, tanks, howitzer type cannons) being fired, but no one is seen getting hurt. Other footage (real and from Hollywood) shows characters striking others, including a Western where one character shoots another (in a very old-fashioned way). Other archival footage shows brief concentration camp footage, including a massive pile of emaciated bodies, and that and other such footage and related talk might be unsettling for some viewers. Depending on one's viewpoint regarding the topic at hand, proponents on the other side might be viewed as having bad attitudes. Not surprising considering all of the above, all sorts of thematic elements are present, as are various bits of archival footage showing people smoking cigarettes. Brief drinking and drug-related comments are also 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. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, varying amounts of handheld camerawork (sometimes fairly bouncy) occur throughout the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE None, but one man states that after the 3rd or 4th beer, many an evolutionist will admit there are problems in that theory. And there's footage of Bill Maher saying that drugs and guns shouldn't be the things that are regulated, but that it's religion that should be. BLOOD/GORE We see archival footage of crematoriums with many charred bones inside. We see archival footage showing a massive pile of emaciated bodies at some concentration camp. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Viewers who don't support or believe in evolution might not like the views of those in the film who support it. The same will hold true for the dismissal of those who believe in or just comment on Intelligent Design. Viewers who support or believe in evolution might not like the views of those in the film who don't support it. Old film footage shows a bully sitting on and holding another kid down on the ground. Some viewers might not like a man stating that religion is just fantasy, and an evil one at that. There's footage of Bill Maher saying that drugs and guns shouldn't be the things that are regulated, but that it's religion that should be (some viewers might not like that sentiment). There's an old Nazi propaganda film talking about certain people who were lower than beasts. Some viewers might not like talk that Planned Parenthood was about trying to clear out the human species (by providing contraception to lower income and "less desirable" people). Some viewers might not like Stein and the film stating that Darwinism leads to atheism, abortion and euthanasia, and did lead to the Holocaust and could do so again. Some viewers might not like a figure equating religion to a primitive superstition. FRIGHTENING SCENES Stein visits Hadamar where 15,000 people of various handicaps were exterminated and then dissected to see what was "wrong" with them. There's footage of the old shower rooms where people were gassed to death, as well as a dissection table. We see archival footage of emaciated people under Hitler's regime. We see archival footage of crematoriums with many charred bones inside. We see archival footage showing a massive pile of emaciated bodies at some concentration camp. GUNS/WEAPONS Old archival footage shows soldiers with rifles over their shoulders. There's old footage of a guillotine blade dropping, but the device is empty (no one is in it). There's footage from an old Western where one character shoots another with his six-shooter. There's footage from an old sci-fi movie featuring a laser beam from an alien, with an explosion in some dirt. There's old footage of a tank firing, and machine guns and rifles being fired (but no one is seen getting hit). Other such footage shows bayonet-equipped rifles and old howitzer type cannons firing, with some explosions hitting the ground, but no one is harmed. There's footage of Bill Maher saying that drugs and guns shouldn't be the things that are regulated, but that it's religion that should be. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You work your butt off," "Shut up, you freak," "It's a madhouse," "You stupid machine," "A hell of a lot more frank" and "Nutcase." We see miscellaneous graffiti on the Berlin Wall. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A little bit of ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 hell. SEX/NUDITY A cartoon figure shows a little bit of cleavage (drawn that way on purpose in a dress, but nothing explicit or racy). The word "Panspermia" is seen on the screen as an introduction to the idea that life on Earth was seeded from elsewhere. The old Leonardo da Vinci sketch of a man (standing, arms straight out, legs partially spread - known as the Vitruvian Man) shows the outline of the penis and scrotum (seen as a small image). SMOKING Various bits of old film footage show various miscellaneous characters, as well as newsman Edward R. Murrow, smoking cigarettes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Charles Darwin, Darwinism, evolution and natural selection. Intelligent design. Creationism. Free speech. The Berlin Wall being used as a metaphor for the suppression of freedom of speech in the scientific and academic worlds. If and whether science and religion can or should be applied to the same subject matter. Talk of people losing their jobs and/or being blacklisted for supporting or just mentioning intelligent design. The film's point that evolutionists and science in general are an organized, systematic and ruthless organization desirous of quelling talk of intelligent design. The comment that intelligent design is just creationism in disguise. The argument that the field of psychics was once dominated by the ideas of Newton, but that changed over to Einstein (comparing that to Darwinism currently reigning supreme in science, but that it could be unseated). The fact that many evolutionists can't provide scientific fact regarding what generated the very first cell, and instead usually work from its existence forward. The question -- not brought up by the film -- that if there is/was an intelligent designer, who or what created/designed that entity, etc. The comment that Darwin, in the middle 19th century, could not have imagined the complexity of the human cell. The notion that Darwinism leads to atheism. The Scopes trial. There's talk of one man who had a brain tumor and survived that, but then said that if it returned, he'd shoot himself in the head rather than go through what his brother did with ALS. The stated connection between Darwinism and Hitler and the Nazi movement. Stein visits Hadamar where 15,000 people of various handicaps were exterminated and then dissected to see what was "wrong" with them. There's footage of the old shower rooms where people were gassed to death, as well as a dissection table. Eugenics and the systematic sterilization of people that occurred from that. Talk that Planned Parenthood was about trying to clear out the human species (by providing contraception to lower income and "less desirable" people). The comment that evil can be rationalized as being good (by those responsible), such as with Hitler thinking he was doing good by creating a master race and eliminating "defects" in the human race. The question that if freedom of choice and expression are eliminated in science, where will that suppression stop. The question of whether science could lead to facts proving God's hand in the design of life. VIOLENCE There's brief archival footage of police manhandling some people. There's old film footage of a man being pushed around and then punched once. There's footage from the movie "Planet of the Apes" where one gorilla guard sprays water from a fire hose onto Charlton Heston's character. There's footage from an old Western where one character shoots another with his six-shooter. There's footage from an old sci-fi movie featuring a laser beam from an alien, with an explosion in some dirt. Old film footage shows a bully sitting on and holding another kid down on the ground. There's old footage of a tank firing, and machine guns and rifles being fired (but no is seen getting hit). Other such footage shows old howitzer type cannons firing, with some explosions hitting the ground, but no one is harmed. There's old footage from a comedy showing one man slapping another, who returns the action, and then back and forth. Reviewed April 18, 2008 / Posted April 18, 2008