"LAND OF THE LOST"
(2009) (Will Ferrell, Anna Friel) (PG-13)

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

---

QUICK TAKE:

Comedy: A scientist, his new assistant, and a tourist trap operator end up in another dimension where the past, present and future coexist, and then try to find their way back home, all while dealing with dinosaurs, reptilian creatures and more.

PLOT:

Dr. Rick Marshall (WILL FERRELL) is a scientist who was discredited several years ago due to his chosen field of quantum paleontology and his belief in time warps to solve the world's energy crisis. Yet, that hasn't prevented him from continuing his research on his time warp device, and when scientist Holly Cantrell (ANNA FRIEL) shows up possessing a fossil with an imprint of a modern day lighter in it, he knows he's still on the right track.

The two travel back to where she found it, the Devil's Canyon Mystery Cave, a tourist trap and fireworks emporium run by Will Stanton (DANNY McBRIDE). He takes them on a tour of the indoor ride, but Rick's device causes a rift in time and the three end up careening down a waterfall into it.

They end up in another dimension where the past, present and future coexist. That includes wreckage of thousands of years of human inventions, live dinosaurs (including a testy T-Rex that doesn't like Rick for insulting its intelligence), a race of slow-moving but hostile humanoid type reptiles known as the Sleestak, and a missing link primate known as Chaka (JORMA TACCONE).

Then there's Enik the Altrusian (JOHN BOYLAN), an intellectually advanced Sleestak who's imprisoned in a mystical pylon filled with magic crystals. He informs the newcomers that another being is prepared to escape this world and conquer theirs, and thus the unlikely quartet of Rick, Holly, Will and Chaka set out to find Rick's missing time warp device before it falls into the wrong hands.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're fans of Ferrell or anyone else in the cast, goofy comedies or ones featuring dinosaurs and such, they might be interested.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13

For crude and sexual content, and for language including a drug reference.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

WILL FERRELL plays a scientist discredited years ago for what sounded like far-out research that proves to be accurate when his device opens a rift in time and sends him, Holly and Will into the other dimension. Egotistical, smug and a bit goofy, he uses profanity and gets unintentionally high with Will and Chaka after the latter has the humans consume some sort of native grown narcotic.

ANNA FRIEL plays a scientist and long-time follower of Rick's who encourages him to continue his research and thus is the impetus that results in them and Will traveling through the rift in time to the land of the lost. She ends up befriending Chaka (and translates for him).

DANNY McBRIDE plays a redneck type tourist trap and fireworks emporium operator who ends up stuck with them in the otherworldly dimension. He uses profanity, makes some crude remarks toward Holly, gets unintentionally high with Rick and Chaka, and basically looks out for himself although he does help the others from time to time.

JORMA TACCONE plays a missing link type primate who befriends the newcomers and can speak in his own primate language that only Holly can understand (he also enjoys putting his hands on her clothed breasts). He also gets high with the human men.

JOHN BOYLAN plays an intellectually advanced Sleestak who's imprisoned in a mystical pylon and warns the newcomers that another being is prepared to escape this world and conquer theirs.

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 comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present as are various comedy elements, a male primate repeatedly gropes a woman's clothed breasts, some shapely young women are seen in revealing attire, coffee mugs have protruding bare breasts on them, and cleavage is present.

Physical comedy and action are present in various scenes, with characters striking others, while dinosaurs try to or successfully attack humans (with an apparent partial dismemberment of one). One such dinosaur explodes from the inside, and some reptile type creatures are incinerated.

Those scenes and various moments of potential peril (especially the dinosaur chase and attack scenes) might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers, even if most of it's played fairly lightly and/or for comedy/adventure. Various behaviors might be enticing for some kids to imitate.

Bad attitudes are present, as is crude & gross out humor in various scenes. There are several drug related comments, while several characters end up high from ingesting a local substance that turns out to be narcotic in nature. Alcohol and tobacco content is also briefly present.

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 several times in the film.

---

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

A young student asks Rick that if a lot of pot was sent toward the sun and burned up, would it get everybody high.

Rick complains that Will smells of malt liquor and feet.

About coming across a temple in a jungle, Will states he bets someone's growing "weed" there.

Rick and Will drink from something Chaka gives them and turns out to be narcotic, thus leaving them and then Chaka high.

We see Will's assistant holding a beer.

BLOOD/GORE

Holly finds Rick in a "food coma" and he spits out a chunk of something when she helps him regain consciousness.

A T-Rex spews mucous or something similar all over Rick, Holly and Will.

Holly translates that Chaka got in trouble with his kind for pooping in the village well.

Telling Holly and Will that they all need to mask their scent to avoid the dinosaurs, Rick shows that he's collected a large amount of dinosaur urine. He then pours that over himself, drinks some to get it into his bloodstream, and then pours more over himself, hoping that will stop the stinging in his eyes and throat, but it doesn't.

A dinosaur explodes, sending meat and guts everywhere.

Holly mentions a video of a monkey "pissing" in his own face (not seen).

Rick is oblivious to the over-sized mosquito that lands on his neck and then starts filling to an exaggerated size with his blood, all as he turns pale from the loss of just that. As he loses consciousness, his body turns to reveal a grossly engorged mosquito on his back before falling back on that, resulting in the blood splattering outward. Later, when he's seen shirtless and then turns, we see a huge, swollen boil on his back (all played for laughs).

Baby (but still large) pterodactyls hatch from their eggs and are covered in related goo.

While high, Will grabs a fly from midair and eats it.

Holly finds a pile of dinosaur dung and pulls an egg from that.

Rick doesn't want to talk about how he got out of a T-Rex that swallowed him, but finally admits that it pooped him out. Will then laughs that Rick "got deuced out" by a dinosaur, with Rick adding that he apparently broke through some intestinal blockage that was making the dinosaur grumpy.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

About Rick commenting on having a song from "A Chorus Line" as his device's powered on sound, Holly says, "It's a bit gay."

Will makes various lascivious comments toward Holly in several scenes.

Stating the T-Rex has a brain the size of a walnut, Rick says to forget the Polish as T-Rexes are the real dummies of the world.

Rick doesn't treat Chaka nicely at first, including telling him at one point, "F*ck you."

Some viewers might not like Will stating he doesn't trust any "dude" who wears a tunic.

Enik turns out to be a villain.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material, but probably few others. That's due to that as well as the following being played either fairly lightly and/or for comedy, but some of the material (especially the attacking dinosaur scenes) might still be intense for younger viewers.

We see an astronaut or similar space traveler (in spacesuit with helmet) appearing panicked in a swampy area as he (and we) hear dinosaur sounds (growling, thumping footsteps). He then flees through the swamp, and we see a reflection (in his helmet) of a large T-Rex coming right at him.

An earthquake rocks Will's tourist trap water ride, causing it to turn into rapids with a waterfall at the end over which he, Rick and Holly plummet.

We see another primate about to stab a dagger down into Chaka, but Holly interrupts that.

Rick, Holly, Will and Chaka fall through a hole down into a pit filled with all sorts of bones. Various vines then wrap around and lift them into the air, with Rick realizing they're above a feeding area. He then gets all four to start swinging back and forth in unison to try to grab a branch on one side, but a T-Rex shows up on the other and bites at Rick (the closest) as they swing that other direction. The T-Rex then bites those vines and all four fall and land hard, but take off running. The T-Rex then chases after them, with Holly having Will stand in front of the charging dinosaur for a perspective element in the photo she's taking. They then flee with the T-Rex in hot pursuit (and nearly biting Rick), crossing a rock bridge across a chasm. They think they're safe, but the dinosaur gets a running start and jumps over the ravine, again chasing them up a diagonal path to a cave where the T-Rex pushes his head into the entrance and tries to get them, but can't.

The trio spots some old human skeletons seated in a cave.

Rick takes a coconut type object that Chaka has cracked open for him. Before he knows it, all sorts of large spider-type creatures crawl all over Rick, with Chaka eating one to show they're edible.

The humanoid looking reptilian Sleestak emerge (with sharp teeth) and slowly surround the humans, but the latter manage to escape.

Enik tells the humans that another being is prepared to leave this world and conquer Earth.

An ice cream truck (with a human inside) falls from the sky, and is then immediately attacked by hungry raptors that voraciously grab the treats the man throws to them, all while trying to get inside (seen from outside and inside the vehicle). We then see one emerge with one of the man's limbs in its mouth (no blood). Two big dinosaurs (a T-Rex and another similar one) then chase Rick, Holly and Will, with the T-Rex grabbing Rick by his clothes and shaking him about. He manages to escape and then hides among some mannequins, but the dinosaur spots him, and we then see a distant view of it thrashing him about. But we then see that it was a mannequin, with Rick running to and entering a stretch limo, with a big dinosaur then crushing parts of that while trying to get him. He again manages to escape and runs toward Holly and Will while holding a gas canister. They place that in an old catapult and fire it into the dinosaur's mouth. We hear the release of the gas, the dinosaur immediately frosts over and falls to the ground dead, and then explodes, sending meat and guts everywhere.

Rick must make his way through an array of pterodactyl eggs on the verge of hatching to retrieve his device. He gets that, but they start hatching all around him, and he must figure out what to do before it's too late.

A gargantuan crab comes racing across the desert floor, clicking its huge claws, while Rick, Will and Chaka are high and not sure of what they're seeing. But it falls into a steam hole and then pops back up, fully cooked.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Will's assistant walks in wearing a rifle on a strap.

We see another primate about to stab a dagger down into Chaka, but Holly interrupts them.

A projected image shows a supposed villain being hit by a laser beam or something similar.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "F*ck you," "Set the F-ing catapult" (said just like that), "Sh*tty," "You little sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Kick ass sh*t," "Your sh*tty boombox," "What a pus," "You stood under a dino dong with a bucket," what sounded like "Son of a t*t," "Zombie d*ck," "He's about to tap that ass" and "He's totally tapping that ass" (sexual), "Where the hell am I?" "G*ddamn right it was," "I'm out of my freaking mind department," "That's a bitch slap of truth right there," "It's your own damn vault" (rather than "fault"), what sounded like "Captain Kirk's nipples" (said as an exclamation), "What a piece of crap," "It's a bit gay," "This little bastard here I call the Mexican vasectomy" (said about a firework), Pisses me off," "Have a kick-ass awesome time," "Hell no, dude," "You bastard," "Matt Lauer can suck it," "Shut up," "Smells of malt liquor and feet," "How the hell did that happen?" "Where the hell is it?" "What the hell /was that/does that mean?" "Damn you," "Run like hell," "We're screwed," "Not cool, dude," "Give me a break," "Sweet Gregor Mendel," "My bad," "You're freaking me out," "Not so fast, amigo," "Never trust a dude in a tunic," "It's pretty damn good," "Oh crap balls," "You're a little asshole," "That blows," "That's really freaking stupid," "Let's move out, you pansies," "Dumb ass dude," "Bro," "Welcome to the big bang theory," "You stupid idiot," "C'mon you big green bastards," "Wanker," "Cake-hole," "Jeez," "He pooped me out" and "You were deuced out by a dinosaur."

The action and stunts might be enticing for some kids to try to imitate.

Rick is seen eating a donut filled with M&Ms.

Will has tattoos on both arms.

Chaka gropes or touches Holly's clothed breasts on various occasions, with Will even trying to get in on that behavior.

With their voices vibrating from touching a pulsating pylon, Rick and Will sing parts of Cher's electronic sounding song "Believe."

A small dinosaur belches.

Rick states he's given up and is just going to sit there with his hand halfway down his pants, and he then assumes just that position.

While high, Will grabs a fly from midair and eats it.

To try to make her leave so he can battle the T-Rex, Rick throws a rock that hits Holly in the chest (she's apparently unharmed).

JUMP SCENES

Some bats suddenly take flight in a jungle temple.

A Sleestak suddenly grabs Holly.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

An extreme amount of suspenseful, ominous, and action-oriented music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

A lyric from a song from "A Chorus Line" states, "God, I hope I get it" (heard several times).

PROFANITY

At least 1 "f" word (and another said as "F-ing"), 6 "s" words, 3 slang terms for sex ("tapping," used with "ass"), 2 slang terms for male genitals ("d*ck" and "dong"), 2 using female ones ("p*ssy" and "pus"), 2 for breasts (variations of "boob" and another possible one as "t*t"), 14 hells, 10 damns, 8 asses (1 used with "hole"), 4 craps, 2 S.O.B.s, 1 wanker, 10 uses of "Oh God," 7 of "Oh my God," 4 of "God," and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Good God," "Jesus Christ" and "My God."

SEX/NUDITY

A young male student asks Rick if dinosaurs have "boobs" (making a related gesture at his own chest with his hands).

A young female student asks Rick about him being on Cialis (an erectile dysfunction drug).

Will refers to a certain large firework as the "Mexican vasectomy." He then holds up some mugs that show female bare breasts on them, saying that they're a perfect woman (with "boobs," no head, and a handle).

About the water ride tourist trap attraction they're about to go on, Will says "You may get wet." Rick replies that his equipment can't get wet, with Will saying he wasn't talking to him, but rather "Mary Poppins" (referring to Holly, and meant sexually, as he lasciviously sings the notes of a porno sounding tune).

Rick states, "Matt Lauer can suck it" and we later see that's the title of his book.

As Will, Holly and Rick lie in the desert sand observing Chaka and others of his kind, Will thinks he's seeing Bigfoot. Rick then asks, "Are you touching yourself?" and we see that Will has his hand down inside his pants under his body, but don't see anything explicit.

After Holly points to herself (and specifically her chest area, although not meant sexually), saying her name to Chaka, he puts his hands on her clothed breasts. He then does that again, followed by Will doing that to her while introducing himself (she pushes his hand away). Later, and needing a sense of security, Chaka touches her clothed breast again, followed by going over and hugging Rick's leg and then feeling his clothed crotch.

Holly tears the material covering her legs off her pants, thus leaving her in the equivalent of small and tight shorts.

Holly shows some cleavage.

With their voices vibrating from touching a pulsating pylon, Rick and Will sing parts of Cher's electronic sounding song "Believe." Will then tells Holly she should sit on that (meant sexually).

Telling Holly and Will that they all need to mask their scent to avoid the dinosaurs, Rick shows that he's collected a large amount of dinosaur urine. Will then laughs that Rick stood under a dinosaur "dong" to collect that.

Rick states he's given up and is just going to sit there with his hand halfway down his pants, and he then assumes just that position.

Will and Chaka chat about women, with the former saying he's had a six year dry spell, while Chaka (through Holly's translation) states he has a harem of 7,000 females. He then makes a sex gesture (hip movement simulating humping) and Holly says she won't be translating that.

We see Chaka asleep with his hand on Holly's clothed breast.

We see Rick shirtless.

Holly shows a lot of cleavage as she bends down to talk to Rick who stares at said cleavage.

We see Will shirtless as he jumps into a swimming pool, while Rick is in his wet briefs and a tank-top.

A sign by a swimming pool shows a bikini-clad female figure (non photo realistic).

Holly translates part of what Chaka is telling them as "zombie d*ck."

While high, Will asks Rick how much money it would take for Rick to French kiss Chaka, and the latter two nearly do (while also high), but ultimately don't.

After all being high, Will and Chaka wake up in the "69" position (on their sides), while Rick is in the "spoons" position behind Chaka (the humans are clothed, Chaka is covered in hair).

Will and Rick spy on two Sleestak that are guarding an entrance, when Will realizes they're about to mate. He states, "He's about to tap that ass," and that phrase is used twice again, including "He's totally tapping that ass." The two men react in disgust to the act we don't see, followed by the fully shed reptile skins of the two Sleestak landing near them.

Holly passionately kisses Rick.

Will encounters the females of Chaka's tribe, but rather than looking like primates, they appear as scantly clad and buxom young women. They're topless (with their hair down over the fronts of their breasts, while the sides of said breasts are seen bare, as are their backs), while they wear loincloth type bottoms that show various amounts of their bare butts.

On national TV, Rick comments about Holly being his lover.

SMOKING

Rick tries to smoke a shell-shaped pipe on the "Today Show," but Matt Lauer informs him there's no smoking. At the end of the film, Rick has that pipe on the show again.

Will's assistant is seen with a cigarette in his hand.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Paleontologists.

Adapting TV shows into feature films.

Why the filmmakers chose to turn a family friendly TV show into a risqué and crude movie.

The notion of an alternate reality where past, present and future could coexist.

VIOLENCE

All of the following is played either fairly lightly and/or for comedy, but some of the material (especially the attacking dinosaur scenes) might still be intense for younger viewers.

Rick is upset with questions asked of him by Matt Lauer on "The Today Show" and thus storms off the set. But he then rushes back at Matt, is tackled by another man, and then sprayed with a fire extinguisher by Matt.

Will burns his hand on his lighter.

Rick suffers head pain from mental telepathy sent by Enik.

Thinking Rick has gone crazy, Will chases after and throws large rocks at him.

Holly prepares to hit some Sleestak with her belt wrapped around her hand, but she accidentally backhands Will with that. A laser beam (or equivalent) then hits Will and knocks him down.

An ice cream truck (with a human inside) falls from the sky, and is then immediately attacked by hungry raptors that voraciously grab the treats the man throws to them, all while trying to get inside (seen from outside and inside the vehicle). We then see one emerge with one of the man's limbs in its mouth (no blood). Two big dinosaurs (a T-Rex and another similar one) then chase Rick, Holly and Will, with the T-Rex grabbing Rick by his clothes and shaking him about. He manages to escape and then hides among some mannequins, but the dinosaur spots him, and we then see a distant view of it thrashing him about. But we then see that it was a mannequin, with Rick running to and entering a stretch limo, with a big dinosaur then crushing parts of that while trying to get him. He again manages to escape and runs toward Holly and Will while holding a gas canister. They place that in an old catapult and fire it into the dinosaur's mouth. We hear the release of the gas, the dinosaur immediately frosts over and falls to the ground dead, and then explodes, sending meat and guts everywhere.

A gargantuan crab comes racing across the desert floor, clicking its huge claws, while Rick, Will and Chaka are high and not sure of what they're seeing. But it falls into a steam hole and then pops back up, fully cooked.

A projected image shows a supposed villain being hit by a laser beam or something similar.

A Sleestak suddenly grabs Holly.

Finding Holly in a cage suspended above a fiery pit, Rick and Will come to her rescue, with Rick knocking one Sleestak into the pit where it's instantly incinerated, followed by some struggling where a few more fall in for presumably similar fates. Will tries kicking one in the crotch and then punching it in the gut, but neither hurts the reptile, followed by one hitting Will over the head and knocking him out. Rick then jumps up onto the cage that then starts swinging and then dropping toward the fiery pit, but both get off that to safety.

To try to make her leave so he can battle the T-Rex, Rick throws a rock that hits Holly in the chest (she's apparently unharmed). Rick then tries battling the dinosaur that knocks away his staff, followed by Rick trying to pole vault into the T-Rex. But it simply opens its mouth and swallows him whole (he's later seen okay).

Holly hits many Sleestak, but is finally grabbed and contained. Will uses Chaka as a battering ram of sorts and hits various Sleestak, followed by the T-Rex (with Rick riding its back) that then also comes to her rescue and knocks aside, stomps down on and bites various Sleestak (no blood).

Rick tackles and then punches Enik several times in the face, with Will try to fall down on Enik in a pro wrestling type move, but he only hits the floor, and hard. As he and the others then try to escape, Enik grabs Will by the foot, tripping him. Will and Chaka then grab and control Enik.

Matt Lauer lunges at Rick on the set of "The Today Show."

Reviewed June 2, 2009/ Posted June 5, 2009

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2022 Screen It, Inc.