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"LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT"
(2002) (Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate Mild Moderate Mild Mild
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Minor None None None Heavy
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy Mild Moderate Moderate Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Drama: A glossy TV news reporter reexamines her life and priorities after believing a street prophet's vision that she'll die in a week.
PLOT:
Lanie Kerrigan (ANGELINA JOLIE) is a career-minded TV reporter for KQMO news in Seattle who's been told by her boss, Dennis (GREG ITZIN), that she's on the fast track for a network gig with the national show AM U.S.A. To make sure she's ready for that, Dennis assigns her to work with Pete (EDWARD BURNS), a former network cameraman, and Vin (MAX BAKER), his audio assistant.

Lanie and Vin don't get along that well, particularly since he sees her as the most self-absorbed and egocentric woman he's ever met, and she sees him as someone whose life revolves around what she describes as banal sex, something she learns he's had with her best friend Andrea (MELISSA ERRICO).

In truth, despite being engaged to Cal (CHRISTIAN KANE), her live-in, professional baseball playing fiancé, Lanie is trying to overcome a disappointing family life where her widowed father, Pat (JAMES GAMMON) has always seemed more interested in his married daughter Gwen (LISA THORNHILL), who's always been competitive with Lanie.

With the romantic/sexual tension between them being rather obvious to all but them, the two set out to do a story on Prophet Jack (TONY SHALHOUB), a street seer known for his accurate predictions. Lanie doesn't believe any of what he says - including his prediction that she won't get her new job and that she'll die in one week - until his other predictions come true.

From that point on, Lanie tries to figure out if Jack is right about her future. She then decides to let go and live life to its fullest in what could be her few remaining days, but must then deal with her feelings toward Pete as well as the temptation and allure of landing that network job and returning to her old, career-building ways.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they're fans of someone in the cast they might, but the ad campaign's lack of nailing down the genre might prevent some from having it on or near the top of their "must see" list.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For sexual content, brief violence and language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • ANGELINA JOLIE plays a local TV news reporter whose priorities change when she believes she's going to die in a week as a street prophet has forecasted. She smokes, drinks and uses brief strong profanity, as well as sleeps with Pete after breaking up with her live-in fiancé.
  • EDWARD BURNS plays her cameraman who doesn't like her superficial self, but does like her (and beds her) when she finally lets her real self out. He uses some profanity.
  • TONY SHALHOUB plays a grungy street prophet who claims to receive visions from God and accurately predicts/forecasts future events.
  • CHRISTIAN KANE plays Lanie's shallow, pro baseball playing fiancé who lives with her, but hasn't given any deep thought to their relationship. He uses some profanity.
  • JAMES GAMMON plays Lanie's widowed father who initially seems indifferent to her, but later proves that he loves her.
  • MELISSA ERRICO plays Lanie's best friend and coworker.
  • LISA THORNHILL plays Lanie's competitive and condescending sister.
  • MAX BAKER plays Lanie's audio man who smokes.
  • 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 look at the content found in this drama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and some colorful phrases are also used. Various instances of sexually related dialogue are present, mostly centered around the two main characters. Some passionate making out is seen, while a sexual encounter occurs off-camera.

    Various characters drink (one to the point of being intoxicated) and/or smoke, while varying degrees of bad attitudes and some tense family moments are present. A brief scene late in the film involves a man with a gun who accidentally shoots and wounds another person (with a little bit of blood seen later in a hospital). That scene and another may be somewhat suspenseful to some more sensitive viewers.

    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.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • A friend of Lanie's has a drink.
  • Some people in a bar drink.
  • Lanie takes a bottle of fortified strawberry wine to Jack, but he doesn't take it.
  • Pete has a beer.
  • Lanie mentions being drunk the first time she and Pete had sex.
  • Gwen briefly mentions her husband being in AA.
  • We see Lanie in a bar drinking liquor and she then shows up to do a news story the next morning and appears a bit intoxicated (Pete asks if she's been drinking and she says that she hasn't).
  • Later, Pete brings Lanie choices of liquor and tells her to point to the one she was drinking. She indicates rum and he then pours it into some concoction that he makes her drink to feel better. He then informs her that she passed out in his car earlier.
  • Some people celebrate with champagne.
  • People have drinks on a plane, including Lanie.
  • Pete and Vin drink beer where others also drink.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • We see what looks like some blood on the glove of a surgeon over a patient.
  • A towel held over a gunshot wound has some blood on it.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Lanie and Pete have some of both types of attitudes toward each other.
  • Lanie's sister has a condescending attitude toward her, even in the past when she calls her "pudge."
  • Pete pulls a prank on Lanie (giving her a microphone that makes her voice sound funny) as she tries to do a news piece.
  • It's possible some viewers could take offense at Prophet Jack saying he's getting his visions from God.
  • When Lanie calls up Cal on the phone across the country at night and asks if he's ever thought about what he'd do if he found out he only had a week to live, he asks her if she's on her period and doesn't want to talk (as he says he needs his sleep).
  • When Lanie seriously asks Cal what will keep them together for decades to come, he mentions that she has a "great ass."
  • A famous TV personality is demanding and rude to others.
  • A deranged man on the street holds police officers at bay and then ends up accidentally shooting Lanie (although we don't see the impact).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • After Jack prophesizes that an angel will fall from the sky, we see Lanie flying in a commercial jet that's rocked by turbulence in a T-storm.
  • As Lanie walks out of a building on the day she's supposed to die, we see police surround a deranged man on the street. That man pulls out a gun and we hear a shot (we don't see the impact, but do then see Lanie in the hospital after being hit). We then hear Lanie's heartbeat signal go flat (but she's okay).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Handgun: Held by a deranged man on the street and then fired, accidentally hitting Lanie (we don't see the impact).
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Pound the sh*t out of the ball," "You're so full of sh*t," "Pudge" (what Lanie's sister calls her), "Don't be a wanker," "Open up a big ol' can of butt whoopin,'" "Nut" (crazy person), "Diarrhea of the mouth," "Jeez," "That is one crazy chick," "Shut up" and "What kind of crap is that?"
  • Vin has a small tattoo on his neck.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • None
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 "f" word (and another that's bleeped out during a replay of the first), 5 "s" words, 1 slang term each using male and female genitals ("d*ck" and "nookie"), 1 ass, 1 crap, 1 wanker, 4 uses each of "Oh God" and "Oh my God" and 2 uses of "God" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We see Cal get out of Lanie's bed wearing boxers.
  • When Lanie complains that Pete doesn't know how to treat a lady, a female friend of hers, Andrea, giggles and then says, "But he's good in bed." Lanie says that she doesn't care who Pete sleeps with because he sleeps with everybody (but it does bother her a bit).
  • Lanie shows some cleavage in various outfits in various scenes.
  • Lanie belittles Pete's "banal, sexual physical encounters" and he replies that there's nothing banal about any of them. Vin then chimes in, "Why don't you two just get a room already?"
  • Lanie calls Cal on the phone across the country at night. He wonders what's up and then says that he doesn't feel like phone sex right now (but that's not why she was calling).
  • After Pete tries to get Lanie to calm down by telling her to breathe deeply, she replies, "Oh my God, you're trying to have sex with me." He says he isn't, and she reminds him that she was drunk the other time. He wonders what time she's talking about and she replies the time they had sex. She then says the next morning they woke up and knew better, but he adds that they then had sex again.
  • After some more sarcastic banter, she comes out and says, "Let's have sex." He says he doesn't want to have sex with her. She then asks if he was going to die what he'd do, and he replies he'd probably have sex with her. After some more talking, she then gets up and leaves and he sarcastically asks where she's going as he thought they were going to have sex.
  • Gwen briefly mentions her husband getting help for his sex addiction (which causes Lanie to laugh at the thought of that).
  • When Lanie seriously asks Cal what will keep them together for decades to come, he mentions that she has a "great ass."
  • Back at Pete's place, Lanie asks him, "Oh God, did we..?" (have sex) and he says that they didn't since she passed out in his car.
  • Pete's young son tells Lanie that instead of singing The Rolling Stones "Satisfaction," she should have sang the song, "I did it for the nookie" (by Limp Bizkit).
  • After they're getting along better, Lanie asks Pete, "Are you trying to have sex with me?" and he replies, "Yeah, I definitely am." She replies, "Good." We then see them in his bedroom where he slowly pulls down the zipper on her sweatshirt and the two kiss. We then see them in the "spoons" position under the covers, presumably after sex.
  • The next day, Pete says that maybe Lanie should meet him in the equipment room at 11:06 for a "little quickie." She says that she might be fired by then, prompting him to say that they won't have to settle then for a quickie. They then passionately kiss.
  • She then shows up at 11:06 in the equipment room, but they don't have sex.
  • SMOKING
  • Vin smokes several times, while Lanie and Jack each smoke once (see below), while miscellaneous people also smoke.
  • In several scenes, we see many used cigarette butts in an ashtray near Lanie, indicating she's been smoking a lot.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Lanie's sister, Gwen, has a condescending attitude toward her, even in the past when she calls her "pudge."
  • Lanie goes to see her father on his birthday and must deal with his apparently indifferent attitude toward her as well as Gwen's bad attitude and competitiveness toward her.
  • Lanie mentions her and Gwen's mom dying and that they and their family have not been normal since then. We later briefly see some old home movie of young Lanie with her sick mom in the hospital.
  • We learn that Pete is divorced from his wife and that he gets visitation rights with their son.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • What you'd do if you found out you only had days to live.
  • Prophets and their statements about the future.
  • Lanie's statement of living life like each day will be your last, because one day it will be.
  • Life as a TV reporter.
  • Balancing one's career with life.
  • VIOLENCE
  • As Lanie walks out of a building on the day she's supposed to die, we see police surround a deranged man on the street. That man pulls out a gun and we hear a shot (we don't see the impact, but do then see Lanie in the hospital after being hit).



  • Reviewed April 16, 2002 / Posted April 26, 2002

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