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"FAIR GAME" (2010) (Naomi Watts, Sean Penn) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Minor Extreme Moderate Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None Minor None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Moderate Extreme Extreme Moderate QUICK TAKE: Drama: A covert CIA agent must contend with her cover being blown by White House officials who want to get revenge on her husband for publically disputing their reasoning for invading Iraq. PLOT: Valerie Plame (NAOMI WATTS) and Joseph Wilson (SEAN PENN) are a married couple with two young kids who tolerate dinner parties where their friends and acquaintances express their opinions about the political doings of 2002. While they know Joseph is a former U.S. Ambassador, little do they realize he does secret investigatory work for the CIA. Or that he gets such assignments due to Valerie actually being a covert agent who's recently been promoted to head the agency's Counter-Proliferation division investigating whether Iraq is trying to build weapons of mass destruction. Along with her boss, Paul (TIM GRIFFIN), and others, Valerie examines the evidence and interviews various people who might have knowledge about such activities. That includes Zahraa (LIRAZ CHARHI) whose brother, Hamed (KHALED NABAWY), is a former Iraqi scientist. As Valerie arranges to get him and his family to safety out of Iraq, Joseph is sent to Niger to investigate whether the Iraqis have purchased 500 tons of uranium as reported. When he learns that never happened, but White House Officials are continuing to spread the story that it did, he writes an op-ed in the New York Times detailing his observation. This infuriates the likes of Scooter Libby (DAVID ANDREWS) and other White House officials. As a result, and to get revenge on Joseph, Valerie is outed to a reporter and her name and occupation are published in the newspaper. As she tries to do damage control but gets no support from those above her, including Jim Pavitt (BRUCE McGILL), Joseph goes on the warpath, hitting every media outlet he can to let the country and world know what's happened. All of that puts a strain on their marriage, with her confiding in her father, Sam Plame (SAM SHEPARD), about what's occurred. From that point on, they must figure out the right thing to do. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or are interested in the real-life story, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For some language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: NAOMI WATTS plays a covert CIA spy who carries on a secret life, unknown to all but her husband, immediate family, and coworkers. She's been promoted to investigate whether Iraq is building weapons of mass destruction and thinks they aren't based on collected evidence and interviews she's conducted. But she must then contend with being outed by the White House after Joseph publically refutes their claims, and the fallout that occurs after that, including anonymous death threats. She isn't happy that her husband isn't laying low, and initially refuses to join him in going public with what she knows. She also worries about the safety of Hamed and his family after her arrangements to have him and his family removed from Iraq are terminated from above. She uses brief strong profanity and does some drinking. SEAN PENN plays her husband, a former U.S. ambassador who still does investigatory work for the CIA, including checking to see if Iraq has purchased 500 tons of uranium from Niger. When he learns that never happened but the White House continues with their campaign of lies, he writes a newspaper piece refuting their claims. As a result, he unintentionally ruins his wife's career (when she's outed as a spy) and must contend with the fallout. He goes on a media blitz to state his outrage and side of the story, but is upset that she won't join him, all of which puts a strain on their marriage. He also uses profanity and smokes cigars. DAVID ANDREWS plays the Vice President's Chief of Staff who pressures the CIA to support the White House's allegations of Iraq trying to build weapons of mass destruction. When Joseph refutes those claims in a newspaper piece, Libby (or those working with him) publically out Valerie as a CIA spy. KHALED NABAWY plays a former Iraqi scientist who's excited that he and his family will be transported out of Iraq, but is surprised to hear that the U.S. government has it all wrong about the country's former weapons program. He smokes. LIRAZ CHARHI plays his sister who's concerned about his safety and has worked with Valerie in terms of arranging his and his family's travels. TIM GRIFFIN plays Valerie's boss who works closely with her, that is, until she's outed and he then no longer supports her (presumably due to pressure from above). BRUCE McGILL plays Valerie's bigger boss at the CIA who's sympathetic toward her plight, but can't or won't do anything about it. 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 drama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 2 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some non-explicit, sexually related dialogue is present, as is implied marital sex after brief fooling around. Violence includes some war related footage (with bombs exploding and bullets flying), but no viewed injuries or deaths. Some of those scenes might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers. Bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material and various thematic elements. Some drinking and smoking occurs in various scenes. 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 concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that from lights on an airport snow plow and later from camera flashes near the end of the film. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's a tremendous amount of bouncy, handheld camerawork throughout the film. There's also a spin around camera shot later in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Valerie and others have beer in a bar. There's wine with dinner that Joseph and Valerie have with various friends. BLOOD/GORE A suspect grabs Valerie's arm when he realizes she's really a CIA agent and that he's now surrounded. Later, Joseph notes the bruises from that on Valerie's arm. An analyst vomits (or nearly does so) in a bathroom sink due to the pressure he's faced being questioned by Scooter. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Valerie tells various white lies to friends, etc. while undercover (such as her occupation, etc.). A friend of Valerie and Joseph is a racist, talking about how he'd react about seeing a man in a turban on an airplane. When confronted by Valerie who knows he was an Iraqi scientist, a teacher in Cairo lies about his past. Scooter is determined to prove his belief (and that of the Vice President) that tubes found in Iraq were designed for nuclear bomb use, despite the analysis by most of the CIA agents on the case who belief otherwise. Knowingly lying or just repeating what was told to them, Condoleezza Rice (at a press conference) and then President Bush (in front of a joint session of Congress) state that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. Scooter decides to get revenge on Joseph's newspaper article about the White House being wrong on WMDs by outing Valerie through a newspaper reporter, thus putting her name and real job out into the public eye. Valerie receives an anonymous call where the caller says, "I hope you die you whore." Now that she's been outed and is something of a black sheep in the agency, Valerie's boss won't help her or the scientists she was arranging to get out of Iraq. Valerie reports to her big boss that her request for personal security was denied by the agency, but he does nothing about that. A woman confronts Joseph in a restaurant, calling him unpatriotic and disrupting his business meeting. FRIGHTENING SCENES Zahraa agrees to help Valerie and travels to see her brother, but she faces inspection at two different airports. At the second one, she's taken into a room by herself, and a man then enters and she's nervous, but it turns out to be her brother. We see TV and then live footage of bombs exploding in Iraq during the American invasion. Hamed races through that to his home where his family sleeps in the hallway as the house shakes from the bombs. Hamed tries driving through a traffic jam with a boy (his son or just another kid posing as that to help him get through checkpoints, etc.). We then hear nearby machine gun fire, with some random bullets hitting nearby and Hamed eventually drives out of there. GUNS/WEAPONS There's talk of weapons regarding suspects Valerie and other agents are after. Guards carry machine guns. We see footage of military choppers as well as soldiers with machine guns. There's talk of bombings on the news. Guards carry machine guns at a uranium mine. We see the beginning of a 21-gun salute at a funeral. We see TV and then live footage of bombs exploding in Iraq during the American invasion. Hamed races through that to his home where his family sleeps in the hallway as the house shakes from the bombs. Later, there are more explosions and the sound of gunfire. Hamed tries driving through a traffic jam with a boy (his son or just another kid posing as that to help him get through checkpoints, etc.). We then hear nearby machine gun fire, with some random bullets hitting nearby and Hamed eventually drives out of there. After learning Valerie is a CIA spy, another woman playfully asks her if she has a gun. Rifles are carried in a military parade (or one featuring military personnel). We see war footage on TV, including that of machine guns carried and a missile fired. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "DFU" ("Don't f*ck up"), "I'll bring my own f*cking rope," "That's/it's bullsh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Don't bullsh*t me," "All this bullsh*t," "Sh*t-hole," "You can't call him a racist p*ssy," "I'm not feeling very double-o-sevenish," "Your double O prefers gratuitous sex," "I hope you die, you whore," "Suck," "God no," "The guy's a tool," "Freezing your balls off," "I damn well do care to comment," "One hell of a fight" and "He's a stubborn son of a bitch." Joseph has a tattoo on his arm. Valerie receives an anonymous call where the caller says, "I hope you die you whore." JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A tiny bit of suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 2 "f" words, 10 "s" words, 1 slang term using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 2 asses (both used with "hole"), 2 craps, 2 damns, 2 hells, 1 S.O.B., 3 uses of "God," 2 of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Oh God" and "Swear to God." SEX/NUDITY A friend of Valerie and Joseph jokes about (him or someone else) being incredible in bed. About having just done some investigating for the CIA, Joseph jokes to Valerie that he's not feeling very "Double-O-7ish." About payment, he again jokes that "Your double-O prefers gratuitous sex." She then suggestively says maybe she can do something about that and they passionately kiss (clothed), but the scene ends there. We briefly see a shirtless guy (his back). Joseph wants to have a cigar after dinner, but Valerie would rather he go outside. He complains of it being cold, and that's followed by a joking comment about "freezing your balls off." After learning Valerie is a CIA spy, another woman playfully asks her if she has lovers all over the world. Valerie and Valerie make up and briefly kiss. SMOKING Joseph smokes cigars several times, Hamed smokes cigarettes several times, and several miscellaneous people smoke. Joseph wants to have a cigar after dinner, but Valerie would rather he go outside. He complains of it being cold, and that's followed by a joking comment about "freezing your balls off." TENSE FAMILY SCENES When confronted by Valerie who knows he was an Iraqi scientist, a teacher in Cairo lies about his past. To get him to talk, Valerie lets him know she's aware that his two daughters were taken by the Iraqi guard and never seen again. Joseph isn't happy that he and his wife have been communicating via Post-It notes for the past several months. He says this as she's about to leave the house very early in the morning, with him saying he never knows where she goes and couldn't go anything if she were to disappear. Zahraa worries about her brother when he doesn't show up and there's been no word about him. She visits Valerie for good news, but is distraught to hear Valerie says they (the CIA) don't have him, especially since there have been reports of others being murdered. Joseph and Valerie argue over their situation and how to handle it. Joseph and Valerie argue again about their situation, with Joseph upset that Valerie didn't tell him about an internal email she sent about him, thus making him look like a liar in recent interviews he's done. We see that Joseph is going to sleep on the sofa (rather than with Valerie). Valerie and her kids have moved to her parents' place where she talks with her father and worries that her marriage is ending. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The historical accuracy and/or artistic license taken with the true story. Life as an undercover government agent. The terrorist threat levels that were present under President George W. Bush's administration. Scooter is determined to prove his belief (and that of the Vice President) that tubes found in Iraq were designed for nuclear bomb use, despite the analysis by most of the CIA agents on the case who belief otherwise. Valerie saying the trick to lying is knowing why you're doing so and never forgetting the truth. People forming opinions on matters of which they know very little. Hamed is shocked that his sister has arrived working for the CIA, not because of that in general, but specifically regarding the questions she asks about Iraq's nuclear program (he states the U.S. knows it was stopped in the 1990s). Joseph telling Valerie that they need to strike back (in terms of telling their side of the story). The comment that democracy is not a free ride. VIOLENCE A suspect grabs Valerie's arm when he realizes she's really a CIA agent and that he's now surrounded. Later, Joseph notes the bruises from that on Valerie's arm. We see TV and then live footage of bombs exploding in Iraq during the American invasion. Hamed races through that to his home where his family sleeps in the hallway as the house shakes from the bombs. Later, there are more explosions and the sound of gunfire. Hamed tries driving through a traffic jam with a boy (his son or just another kid posing as that to help him get through checkpoints, etc.). We then hear nearby machine gun fire, with some random bullets hitting nearby and Hamed eventually drives out of there. Reviewed September 30, 2010 / Posted November 5, 2010

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