That's the last thing that Phil - a former champion himself - wants to do as he hasn't competed since his wife, Shelley (NATASHA RICHARDSON), ran off with his model, Sandra (RACHEL GRIFFITHS), on the night before a contest some ten years ago, leaving him to raise their son, Brian (JOSH HARTNETT), who's now joined his dad in the hair cutting business.
As the various contestants arrive in town - including the current championship team of Phil's old adversary, Ray Roberts (BILL NIGHY), his estranged daughter/model, Christine (RACHEL LEIGH COOK), and their assistant, Louis (HUGH BONNEVILLE) - the locals all react in differing ways.
Shelley, who's just discovered that her ongoing battle with cancer is a losing one, wants to enter the competition one last time. Brian, whose interest in Christine now stems from a romantic angle, also wants to compete, hoping that he can stop practicing on the cadavers at the local funeral home.
As the competition begins with Shelley and Brian reluctantly brought together as a team, the contestants go through the various rounds of the championship that soon stir feelings within Phil and eventually lead to reconciliation within his family.
Two of the major characters are lesbian lovers, one of which left her husband for the other woman, thus creating an estranged family relationship and related tense moments. Other characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some drink and some smoke. One character is dying from cancer, several dead, but not bloody or gory bodies are seen in a funeral home (fully clothed), an older man shoots at what he believes are trespassers/burglars, some men injure another man's hand off-screen, and a person briefly makes a flamethrower out of an aerosol can.
If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone in your home who may want to see it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings where you'll find more specific descriptions and accounts of what occurs in the film.
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(2001) (Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson) (R)
Alcohol/
DrugsBlood/Gore
Disrespectful/
Bad AttitudeFrightening/
Tense ScenesGuns/
Weapons
Moderate
Minor
Heavy
None
Mild
Imitative
BehaviorJump
ScenesMusic
(Scary/Tense)Music
(Inappropriate)Profanity
Moderate
None
None
None
Heavy
Sex/
NuditySmoking
Tense Family
ScenesTopics To
Talk AboutViolence
Heavy
Mild
Moderate
Moderate
Minor
CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO
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).
Reviewed March 5, 2001 / Posted March 7, 2001
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