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"RACHEL GETTING MARRIED" (2008) (Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Minor Moderate Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Heavy Heavy Heavy Mild QUICK TAKE: Drama: A recovering addict is allowed out of rehab to attend her sister's wedding where the two clash about their past and present relationship. PLOT: Kym (ANNE HATHAWAY) is a young woman who's led a troubled life, punctuated by her battles with addiction. Now clean for nine months but still in rehab, she's given a day pass to attend the wedding of her younger sister, Rachel (ROSEMARIE DeWITT), to Sidney (TUNDE ADEBIMPE). Still blaming Kym for a past family tragedy and knowing her tendency to need attention focused on her, Rachel isn't pleased about her sister's presence, but their dad, Paul (BILL IRWIN), and stepmother, Carol (ANNA DEAVERE SMITH), try to smooth things over. The reunion gets off to a rocky start, however, when Kym -- after having a quick tryst with best man and fellow recovering addict Kieran (MATHER ZICKEL) -- learns that Rachel has chosen Emma (ANISA GEORGE) rather than her as the maid of honor. After that's resolved, family and friends gather for the rehearsal dinner -- with the sisters wondering when and if their mother, Abby (DEBRA WINGER) will show up -- and then the ceremony and reception the next day. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast, the director (Jonathan Demme), or movies about and/or featuring weddings, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language and brief sexuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ANNE HATHAWAY plays a young woman who's led a troubled life, mainly in the form of her being an addict who's going through yet another stint of rehab. She smokes, has sex with a stranger (Kieran), uses strong profanity, and is generally unhappy about her condition and the past events that led up to that. ROSEMARIE DeWITT plays her sister, a psychologist in training, who's about to be married but isn't happy when Kym repeatedly calls attention to herself. She uses strong profanity, and still blames Kym for being responsible for their younger brother's accidental death in the past. TUNDE ADEBIMPE plays her fiancé who seems to be a nice guy. MATHER ZICKEL plays Sidney's best man, a recovering addict, who has sex with Kym having only just met her. BILL IRWIN plays the girls' father who tries to keep the peace between them, but is obviously focusing on Rachel's wedding. He uses profanity, some of it strong. ANNA DEAVERE SMITH plays his wife, stepmom to Rachel and Kym. ANISA GEORGE plays Rachel's friend who's set to be her maid of honor until Kym throws a fit about that. DEBRA WINGER plays Kym and Rachel's mom who doesn't seem that close to them (especially when she ends up punching Kym), although there doesn't appear to be any animosity with Paul, her ex. 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. Profanity consists of at least 16 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, as is a briefly seen sexual encounter (standing, in the distance, with movement), cleavage, and some scantly clad women. Violence consists of brief hitting and a one-person car accident. Various characters drink, smoking occurs, there are some drug references, and some characters (including the protagonist) are noted as recovering addicts. Bad attitudes are present, as is some behavior that might be imitated, while several scenes feature tense family material (including talk of a past family tragedy). 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, there are varying amounts of camera movement in the film (sometimes quite bouncy, others featuring quick panning, etc.) as most if not all of it has been shot with a constantly moving handheld camera. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE We hear that Kym is an addict who's now been clean for nine months, but has been in and out of rehab before. Emma tells Rachel she should prescribe some Vicodin for Kym. Various addicts talk about their addictions in a related meeting. Miscellaneous people have wine. Various people have wine at the rehearsal dinner, and then more later in the evening, including raising glasses for toasts. During rehearsal dinner speeches, Kym mentions passing out in a person's bathtub in the past, while one of Sidney's friends comments about their time in Jamaica and the clouds of "medicinal herbs" floating about them. Not being happy about a situation, Kym states maybe she should just use again. Kym tells the story of being in charge of her young sibling in the past, but being high on Percocet when she accidentally drove off a bridge and then couldn't get her brother out of his car seat, resulting in him drowning. About where to seat Kym at the wedding reception, Rachel says they can put her with the cousins who get drunk and need wrangling. About their younger brother, Rachel tells Kym the latter was high for his entire life. Kym admits that's true, that she was stoned out of her mind. She later admits again that she was a junkie and a crazed drug addict. The family has wine with dinner. The morning after being discovered as having driven her car into a tree, Kym is given a sobriety test (walking a straight line) but we know she hasn't imbibed in anything. A miscellaneous guy asks Kym if she's "holding" (drugs), but she isn't. People have wine at the wedding reception and then more later in the scene. BLOOD/GORE About her sister, Kym tells her she's so tiny it's like she's Asian and that she'd swear she's "puking again." About part of her recovery process and testing, Kym states she has to go pee in a cup. She then shows up at the place for that and announces she's there to do just that, with the receptionist repeating that purpose. We then see an overhead view of Kym sitting on the toilet and we hear the sound of her urinating. Kym has a black eye (from her mom punching her and/or a car crash). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE About her sister, Kym tells her she's so tiny it's like she's Asian and that she'd swear she's "puking again." Kym is upset with her sister for choosing Emma as her maid of honor rather than her. That creates some bad attitudes between Emma and Kym when the latter forces Rachel to change her mind about that role. Rachel and Kym argue about the latter and her need to have the focus on her, as well as their relationship, with Kym then being mad that Rachel announces she's pregnant. Kym tells the story of being in charge of her young sibling in the past, but being high on Percocet when she accidentally drove off a bridge and then couldn't get her brother out of his car seat, resulting in him drowning. Upset about hearing Kym's lie in the past about taking care of Rachel regarding a made-up pedophilic uncle, Rachel leaves Kym at the hair salon, forcing her to find her own way home. Kym confronts her mom about why the latter left her in charge of her younger brother knowing full well that Kym was a drug addict. Abby defends that by saying Kym was so good with him, but Kym is upset about that past, fateful decision. The two argue about that, with Abby then punching Kym in the face (leaving her with a black eye later), followed by another hit. FRIGHTENING SCENES Upset about a confrontation with her mom, Kym storms out and on the way home purposefully drives her car off the road, crashing through brush and such until running into a tree. The air bag deploys, but she's okay. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you," "Shut the f*ck up," "Oh f*ck," "F*ck me" (nonsexual), "I'm so f*cking exhausted," "It's my f*cking wedding," "You should go f*ck yourselves," "F*cked up," "I don't give a sh*t," "Make me feel like sh*t," "You don't know sh*t about loading a dishwasher," "Blow me," "God no," "Totally freaking out," "Noc-mare," "God, what a harpy," "Loser," "You're a lucky bastard," "So damn glad," "Holy cow," "One hell of a day," "Whoop-ass" and "A living hell." A miscellaneous woman has a stud in her nostril. Kym has a tattoo on her arm and a larger one on her back. Paul and Sidney have a contest about who can load a dishwasher the fastest and most effectively. Upset about a confrontation with her mom, Kym storms out and on the way home purposefully drives her car off the road, crashing through brush and such until running into a tree. The air bag deploys, but she's okay. We see miscellaneous tattoos. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 16 "f" words, 7 "s" words, 1 slang term using male genitals ("c*cks*cker"), 3 asses, 2 damns, 2 hells, 20 uses of "Oh my God," 5 of "God," 4 of "Oh God," 2 each of "Jesus Christ" and "Swear to God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Good God," "Jesus" and "Oh my Lord." SEX/NUDITY While Rachel is being fitted for her dress, we see her bare midriff. About accidentally making noise upon entering an addicts meeting, Kym yells out "C*cks*cker," with Kieran jokingly replying something about only once and about being hard up for cash. We briefly see a distant view of Kym and Kieran having sex while standing (movement, sounds), and then afterwards, seated upright, with him shirtless and them briefly kissing. They also joke about making the best man and maid of honor sneaking off to "get it on" a new wedding tradition. Rachel, Emma and some miscellaneous women show cleavage at the rehearsal dinner. A person at the rehearsal dinner does a funny little toast for Rachel and Sidney and says that may all of their ups and downs only come in the bedroom. As part of her rehearsal dinner toast, Emma jokingly comments on French kissing Rachel back in the ninth grade. We hear that Rachel is pregnant and hear that she and Sidney got engaged right after learning of that. Rachel is upset with Kym upon hearing the latter made up a story in rehab about having a pedophilic uncle. Rachel sarcastically comments about her forgetting about their dad forcing them into a life of prostitution. Rachel later relates that to their dad, says that she hates Rachel, and Paul asks if the sexual molestation part was true (they say it wasn't). Rachel shows more cleavage. We see the tops of Kym's breasts while she's in a bathtub. We see miscellaneous cleavage. We see some hula/carnival type dressed women performing at the reception, showing cleavage and shaking their hips. We also see one wearing fishnet hose over her thong style bottom (the camera focuses on her rear in that). We see miscellaneous cleavage. Abby shows some cleavage. We see Emma in her panties and a camisole type top. Kieran and Kym do some passionate, clothed kissing. SMOKING Kym smokes at least 8 times and Kieran smokes once, as does a minor character. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Kym is upset with her sister for choosing Emma as her maid of honor rather than her. That creates some bad attitudes between Emma and Kym when the latter forces Rachel to change her mind about that role. Rachel and Kym argue about the latter and her need to have the focus on her, as well as their relationship, with Kym then being mad that Rachel announces she's pregnant. Kym tells the story of being in charge of her young sibling in the past, but being high on Percocet when she accidentally drove off a bridge and then couldn't get her brother out of his car seat, resulting in him drowning. About her sister, Rachel says that sometimes she doesn't want her. Some frivolity about a dishwasher loading contest immediately ends when Kym blindly grabs extra items to put in there, with one accidentally being her dead younger brother's drinking cup. Rachel is upset with Kym upon hearing the latter made up a story in rehab about having a pedophilic uncle. Rachel sarcastically comments about her forgetting about their dad forcing them into a life of prostitution. Rachel later relates that to their dad, says that she hates Rachel, and Paul asks if the sexual molestation part was true (they say it wasn't). About their younger brother, Rachel tells Kym the latter was high for his entire life. Kym admits that's true, that she was stoned out of her mind. She later admits again that she was a junkie and a crazed drug addict. Kym confronts her mom about why the latter left her in charge of her younger brother knowing full well that Kym was a drug addict. Abby defends that by saying Kym was so good with him, but Kym is upset about that past, fateful decision. The two argue about that, with Abby then punching Kym in the face (leaving her with a black eye later), followed by another hit. Kym then storms out and on the way home purposefully drives her car off the road, crashing through brush and such until running into a tree. The air bag deploys, but she's okay. The sisters aren't happy to see Abby leave the reception so early, or hear that she's going to be gone for a week. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT We hear that Kym is an addict who's now been clean for nine months, but has been in and out of rehab before. Weddings and what they bring out in family members. Casual sex. Kym tells the story of being in charge of her young sibling in the past, but being high on Percocet when she accidentally drove off a bridge and then couldn't get her brother out of his car seat, resulting in him drowning. VIOLENCE Kym confronts her mom about why the latter left her in charge of her younger brother knowing full well that Kym was a drug addict. Abby defends that by saying Kym was so good with him, but Kym is upset about that past, fateful decision. The two argue about that, with Abby then punching Kym in the face (leaving her with a black eye later), followed by another hit. Kym then storms out and on the way home purposefully drives her car off the road, crashing through brush and such until running into a tree. The air bag deploys, but she's okay. Reviewed October 13, 2008 / Posted October 31, 2008

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