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"OBSESSED" (2009) (Idris Elba, Ali Larter) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Mild Extreme *Moderate None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy None Extreme None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Heavy Heavy Heavy QUICK TAKE: Dramatic Thriller: When a temp worker starts stalking a successful asset manager, his career and marriage end up jeopardized. PLOT: Derek Charles (IDRIS ELBA) has a good life. Beyond being happily married to Sharon (BEYONCE KNOWLES), having a healthy toddler son in Kyle (NATHAN/NICOLAS MYERS), and moving into a new home, he's successful in his career as an assets manager working alongside Ben (JERRY O'CONNELL) for Joe Gage (BRUCE McGILL). But things change when Derek's usual assistant, Patrick (MATTHEW HUMPHREYS), is out sick, meaning temp Lisa Sheridan (ALI LARTER) fills in for him. Friendly, ultra-efficient and drop-dead gorgeous, she grabs the attention of the men in the office. And while her attention may be focused on Derek, he isn't remotely tempted. That, however, doesn't sway her growing obsession with him and delusion that there's something between them. When that later leads to her unsuccessful suicide attempt following Derek spurning her both at the office Christmas party and a later company retreat, police detective Monica Reese (CHRISTINE LAHTI) begins to investigate the attempt as well as the affair Lisa claims they're having. From that point on, and with Sharon -- who was Derek's assistant before they became romantically involved and later married -- no longer thinking she can trust her husband, the couple must contend with both that and the fact that Lisa won't give up her delusional obsession with her former boss. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of anyone in the cast or dramatic, "Fatal Attraction" type thrillers, they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For sexual material including some suggestive dialogue, some violence and thematic content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: IDRIS ELBA plays a happily married man, father, and successful assets manager who seems to have everything going for him. That is, until Lisa becomes his temp assistant and then becomes increasingly obsessed with the belief that there's something romantic between them. He must not only contend with her advances, but also the strain that puts on his marriage. He drinks and uses profanity. ALI LARTER plays the friendly, ultra-efficient and pretty temp who becomes his assistant at work and then becomes obsessed with the delusion that they're lovers to the point that she comes on to him various times, and even drugs him for suggested sex. She also drinks, uses some profanity, and becomes increasingly unhinged and dangerous. BEYONCE KNOWLES plays Derek's stay-at-home wife who wants something more from her life than that, and thus isn't happy when Lisa alleges she's having an affair with him. She uses profanity and drinks some. JERRY O'CONNELL plays Derek's somewhat crude coworker who likes how Lisa looks, but gives cautionary advice to his friend about how to deal with her advances. CHRISTINE LAHTI plays the detective who investigates Lisa's suicide attempt and allegations of an affair with Derek. BRUCE McGILL plays Derek's boss, something of a good old boy type who briefly uses a crude sexual term but then becomes concerned about the alleged affair and how it might affect the company. MATTHEW HUMPHREYS plays Derek's apparently gay, regular assistant and office gossip who befriends Lisa. 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 dramatic thriller that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 4 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, a married couple starts to fool around before off-screen sex, and a woman repeatedly comes on to a married man who wants nothing to do with her, including trying to undress him in a bathroom stall, exposing her lingerie to him in his car, and possibly taking sexual advantage of him after slipping him a "date rape" drug. Violence includes woman on woman fighting and a resultant death (but only a little bit of bloody results), and those scenes and moments of potential peril might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers. Bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material revolving around a woman thinking her husband cheated on her, while some behavior might be enticing to imitate. Drinking occurs in various scenes, with some intoxication, while a woman spikes a man's drink with a "date rape" drug to take advantage of him. An attempted suicide via an overdose of pills is one of several thematic elements found in the film. 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, varying amounts of camera movement, including some bouncy handheld, occur at various moments in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Derek and Sharon have some champagne in their new home. Lisa tells Patrick that maybe they can have cocktails later, with him jokingly replying that if she thinks she can pump him for office info and gossip with a couple of cosmos, she's right. Sharon reminds Derek of the last time he went to the Christmas party and got drunk, saying they then had their child. Derek (with a beer) and others drink before the office Christmas party, with Lisa joining him and she orders a Dirty Martini. When the bartender asks how dirty, she playfully replies, "Make it filthy." We then see them and others drinking at the party where Derek comments on having had a number of drinks, and that back in the day he'd throw them back (while making an exaggerated drinking gesture). Later, Lisa comes on to him in the restroom, and after rebuking her, he drives home somewhat intoxicated. Sharon has wine. Derek talks about Joe talking about drinking, with Sharon saying the latter must have been drunk at the time. Derek, Ben, Joe and another man have drinks at a company retreat where a Dirty Martini is delivered to Derek, ordered by someone else (Lisa). Derek then goes off and discovers Lisa there, and while he's distracted, she dumps some "date rape" type powder into his drink. When he returns to his room (after Ben says they should plunder the mini-bar), he stumbles about (the view of him is slightly distorted to represent that) and he collapses on his bed, only to find Lisa there who then climbs on top of him (we don't know if sex occurs). Ben and Joe have wine, but Derek says he isn't having any, which Ben says is a first. Sharon and Derek have wine in a restaurant. Lisa opens and pours champagne into two glasses while she's by herself in Sharon and Derek's bedroom. BLOOD/GORE Derek picks up his toddler and reacts to the apparent smell of a dirty diaper, asking what his mother is feeding him. At the office Christmas party, Derek states he has to "take a leak." We next see him in the men's room, but Lisa suddenly interrupts him and shoves him back into a stall where she comes on to him sexually. He wants nothing to do with this and tries to keep her quiet when someone else enters the bathroom and apparently uses the urinal, but we don't hear or really see much related to that last part. Ben tells Derek he missed another coworker at the office party who "tossed his cookies" on the Christmas tree. Lisa has a little bit of a bloody nose and Sharon a bit of a bloody lip as the two fight. When that's done, both have a little bit of blood on their shirts as well. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Lisa doesn't care that Derek is her married boss and repeatedly comes on to him, even after he indirectly and then directly says he's not interested. She then essentially becomes his stalker, trying to get into his life however possible (including drugging him to possibly have sex), with the increasingly delusional obsession that they're lovers. Lisa listens in on a call between Derek and Sharon, and we later hear she wrote down Sharon's name wrong on a phone call message note. About Lisa, Ben states, "That is one smoking hot piece of ass." When Derek somewhat objects to such talk, Ben reminds him that he (Derek) was getting some office "nookie" on the side with Sharon in the past. Derek reminds Ben that the latter is married, with Ben stating he's just on the sidelines, waiting to get back into the game. Lisa tells various lies to Derek to try to lure him in closer to her, emotionally and then romantically/sexually. After a party, Derek drives home somewhat intoxicated. Derek doesn't inform Sharon about Lisa coming on to him at work (that is, until the situation has gotten out of control). Lisa jokingly refers to Patrick, who's apparently gay, as, "You silly old queen." Sharon comments on her brother-in-law cheating on her sister. About the trouble that's since arisen with Lisa, Joe half-jokes to Derek that the latter probably wishes he had "banged" her now. Lisa briefly kidnaps Kyle from his parents' home. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be unsettling and/or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Derek returns to his hotel room to find Lisa in his bed, apparently nude under the covers (we don't see anything explicit). He then realizes she's overdosed on some sort of prescription pills and calls for help. Lisa convinces a babysitter that she knows Sharon and Derek (who are away), and then goes up to Kyle's room where she holds the toddler. She then leaves, and when Derek and Sharon return, they're horrified to learn that Lisa was there and then panic as they look for their boy who's now missing (Derek finds the boy in the backseat of the car they arrived in, with a lipstick kiss mark on his forehead, but otherwise unharmed). When the couple returns home from the hospital, they find their bedroom trashed. Patrick unknowingly gives Lisa info about Derek and Sharon's plans (when we know she's now really unhinged and potentially dangerous). Sharon returns home only to hear noises upstairs, so she slowly goes up there to investigate. She then finds Lisa, and the two get into a multi-minute fight. Sharon shoves Lisa to the floor, but she then kicks Sharon who then drives Lisa back to a wall. Lisa then repeatedly tries to hit Sharon with a floor lamp. Sharon then head-butts Lisa and pushes her back to a wall and throws her to the floor. She then punches Lisa twice and drags her along a railing, but Lisa then hits her and starts to choke Sharon while leaning her back over a railing. The two then end up tumbling down some steps where Lisa kicks Sharon in the face before going back up the stairs. Sharon then slowly goes into the attic looking for her, and Lisa hits her with a board, while Sharon elbows Lisa. SPOILER ALERT: During a fight in the attic, Sharon causes Lisa to step through the floor, resulting in Sharon dangling far above the floor in the multi-story atrium. Sharon then offers to help Lisa, but that results in Sharon being pulled toward the hole, and so she pries Lisa's fingers off her arm. Lisa then falls, but grabs hold of the chandelier. Her weight, however, causes that to partially break from the ceiling, sending Lisa falling many feet to the floor where she crashes through a glass coffee table. She's still alive, but the chandelier then falls and smashes into Lisa, presumably killing her. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh sh*t," "(Don't give me that innocent/This is) Bullsh*t," "30-second nookie," "That is one smoking hot piece of ass," "I don't care if you're doing this girl or not," "He's an asshole," "Gonna take a leak," "What the hell is wrong with you?" "You silly old queen," "Not a G*ddamn thing," "Do you have a horseshoe up your ass? 'Cuz you're the luckiest bastard I know," "Or you leave me the hell alone," "No G*ddamn way," "Bitch, breathe," "Get your ass out of here," "Just try me, bitch," "You are completely delusional," "Your crazy ass," "Your little skinny ass," "C'mon bitch" and "Crazy bitch." After a party, Derek drives home somewhat intoxicated. Lisa slips a "date rape" type powder into Derek's drink (to take advantage of him later). Lisa briefly kidnaps Kyle from his parents' home while posing as a friend of the family to the babysitter who's there. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 4 "s" words, 5 slang terms for sex ("nookie," "doing" and "banged"), 1 for male genitals ("package"), 12 asses (6 used with "hole"), 2 hells, 4 uses of "Oh my God," 3 each of "G-damn" and "Oh God," 2 of "My God" and 1 use each of "For Christ's sakes," "God," "Jesus" and "Swear to God." SEX/NUDITY Sharon shows varying amounts of cleavage in various outfits in several scenes. We see a mirror on the ceiling in Sharon and Derek's new but empty bedroom, with her saying it has go. She says she likes the idea of it, but that it's ugly, with him saying they should try it out and thus christen the house, but she says she doesn't want any "30-second nookie." She also asks about the lack of a bed, he says there's carpet, and she jokes about them getting rug tattoos on their "asses." He then gets on her on the carpeted floor (both clothed), with some brief kissing and nuzzling before the scene ends (with off-screen sex implied). As Lisa kneels down to pick up stuff she dropped in the elevator, we see a quick view of her inner thigh in her short skirt (a view Derek also has). When Joe later sees her legs, he excitedly asks whose legs they belong to, with Derek saying it's the temp and Ben jokingly amending that to "temptress." Sharon suggestively asks Derek what if they give their magic mirror (on the ceiling in the bedroom) another test drive. He replies that she's so bad, with her stating that's why he married her. We see a quick glance of Lisa's bare knees in her short skirt (showing Derek's point of view). We see Derek shirtless as he gets into bed with Sharon, but she says not tonight as she's studying materials. About Lisa, Ben states, "That is one smoking hot piece of ass." When Derek somewhat objects to such talk, Ben reminds him that he (Derek) was getting some office "nookie" on the side with Sharon in the past. Derek reminds Ben that the latter is married, with Ben stating he's just on the sidelines, waiting to get back into the game. Sharon reminds Derek of the last time he went to the Christmas party and got drunk, saying they then had their child. Derek and others drink before the office Christmas party, with Lisa joining him and she orders a Dirty Martini. When the bartender asks how dirty, she playfully replies, "Make it filthy." The camera briefly focuses on Lisa's clothed butt in her tight party dress. At the office Christmas party, Derek states he has to "take a leak." We next see him in the men's room, but Lisa suddenly interrupts him and shoves him back into a stall where she comes on to him sexually. He wants nothing to do with this and tries to keep her quiet when someone else enters the bathroom and apparently uses the urinal. All the while, she's all over him, trying to undress him while pulling up her dress (nothing explicit seen), with the person outside the stall trying to peek inside to see what's happening, and that includes a view (from outside the stall) of her kneeling down in front of Derek's crotch, but nothing happens as he stops her. We see Derek shirtless as he climbs into bed. Lisa suddenly gets into Derek's car in the parking garage and opens her overcoat, revealing her in just lingerie (bra, panties and stockings). He wants nothing to do with this and tells her to get out, but she acts all sensual until he demands that she exit the car. Later, Ben comments on not believing she exposed herself to Derek and touched his "package" (penis -- not seen). Derek opens an email message on his home computer that then opens many duplicate photo images of Lisa in some lingerie (nothing explicit, but he hurriedly closes them before Sharon sees that). At a company retreat, Ben jokes about lap dances and having oiled breasts jammed in faces (none of which is seen). We see a rear view of a bikini-clad woman getting out of a pool, while Lisa wears a dress that's very low-cut in the back. After she slips a "date rape" type powder into Derek's drink, he stumbles back to his room (the view of him is slightly distorted to represent that) and collapses on his bed, only to find Lisa there who then climbs on top of him, clothed and starts kissing and nuzzling on him (we don't know if sex occurs as he passes out and the scene ends). The next day and outside a meeting room, she says she's sorry she got out of bed, with him replying that they didn't do anything. Derek returns to his hotel room to find Lisa in his bed, apparently nude under the covers (we don't see anything explicit). He then realizes she's overdosed on some sort of prescription pills and calls for help. We see Ben shirtless in bed (by himself). Reese comments on Lisa being naked in Derek's bed (in the above suicide scene). Upon learning of allegations of Derek having an affair with Lisa, Sharon is upset. She asks if he had sex with her, and he replies no. Reese then says she doesn't care "if you're doing this girl or not," with him replying that he's not "doing" her. Later and at home, Sharon tells Derek he should leave and get any prophylactics if he thinks he needs them. Reese interviews Lisa who says, "You can guess what happened." Reese replies, "You slept together?" and Lisa confirms that. About the trouble that's since arisen with Lisa, Joe half-jokes to Derek that the latter probably wishes he had "banged" her now. Reese shows Derek Lisa's diary of alleged sexual liaisons with him (we don't see or hear any passages), with Reese stating that according to the diary he's quite the accomplished lover. We see a ground level view of Lisa's clothes hitting the floor around her ankles, followed by a view of her lying on Sharon and Derek's bed (they're gone) in just a t-shirt. Later, when she fights Sharon, we see various views of Lisa's panties as the shirt rides up and/or her legs end up spread (but nothing explicit). SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Sharon comments on her brother-in-law cheating on her sister. Upon learning of allegations of Derek having an affair with Lisa, Sharon is upset. She asks if he had sex with her, and he replies no. She's mad there, on the drive home, and then in their house where he tries to make her believe nothing happened, but she's not buying that. After throwing a plate and yelling at him, she tells him to leave, and he does. We then see a series of montage views of him visiting and playing with their son, and then are informed that three months have passed with no reconciliation. Lisa convinces a babysitter that she knows Sharon and Derek (who are away), and then goes up to Kyle's room where she holds the toddler. She then leaves, and when Derek and Sharon return, they're horrified to learn that Lisa was there and then panic as they look for their boy who's now missing (Derek finds the boy in the backseat of the car they arrived in, with a lipstick kiss mark on his forehead, but otherwise unharmed). When the couple returns home from the hospital, they find their bedroom trashed. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Delusions and obsessions. Why Derek didn't tell Sharon about Lisa earlier. We hear that Sharon was Derek's assistant before they were romantically involved, and that she now has a "no female assistants" rule for her husband. After a party, Derek drives home somewhat intoxicated. Lisa slips a "date rape" type powder into Derek's drink (to take advantage of him later). Derek returns to his hotel room to find Lisa in his bed, apparently nude under the covers (we don't see anything explicit). He then realizes she's overdosed on some sort of prescription pills and calls for help. VIOLENCE Realizing Lisa is getting out of control, Derek grabs her by the arm and starts to drag her toward a meeting room to make her tell others what she's doing. He then grabs her again and she says he can hit her, but he doesn't. Sharon throws a plate across the room while mad at Derek (not at him). Derek and Sharon find that Lisa has trashed their bedroom. Lisa breaks a glass panel in a door to gain entry to Derek and Sharon's home. Sharon returns home only to hear noises upstairs, so she slowly goes up there to investigate. She then finds Lisa, and the two get into a multi-minute fight. Sharon shoves Lisa to the floor, but she then kicks Sharon who then drives Lisa back to a wall. Lisa then repeatedly tries to hit Sharon with a floor lamp. Sharon then head-butts Lisa and pushes her back to a wall and throws her to the floor. She then punches Lisa twice and drags her along a railing, but Lisa then hits her and starts to choke Sharon while leaning her back over a railing. The two then end up tumbling down some steps where Lisa kicks Sharon in the face before going back up the stairs. Sharon then slowly goes into the attic looking for her, and Lisa hits her with a board, while Sharon elbows Lisa. SPOILER ALERT: During a fight in the attic, Sharon causes Lisa to step through the floor, resulting in Sharon dangling far above the floor in the multi-story atrium. Sharon then offers to help Lisa, but that results in Sharon being pulled toward the hole, and so she pries Lisa's fingers off her arm. Lisa then falls, but grabs hold of the chandelier. Her weight, however, causes that to partially break from the ceiling, sending Lisa falling many feet to the floor where she crashes through a glass coffee table. She's still alive, but the chandelier then falls and smashes into Lisa, presumably killing her. Reviewed April 24, 2009/ Posted April 24, 2009

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