AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY"
(2013) (Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: An estranged family gets together following the patriarch's death and must deal with their various strained interpersonal dynamics.

PLOT:

Beverly Weston (SAM SHEPARD) is a famous poet living in Osage County, Oklahoma along with his wife, Violet (MERYL STREEP). Beverly has a drinking problem, while Violet is addicted to painkillers and such, partly stemming from her current battle with mouth cancer. Beverly explains the irony of that affliction -- considering Violet's caustic tendency to say whatever she thinks -- to their new housekeeper, Johnna (MISTY UPHAM).

Violet isn't happy with this change, but just when she's starting to get used to it, Beverly goes missing. While that's something he's done in the past, it and the subsequent discovery that he committed suicide causes the family to come together despite otherwise being estranged.

While adult daughter Ivy (JULIANNE NICHOLSON) has stayed local, her sister, Barbara (JULIA ROBERTS), comes in from Colorado with her husband, Bill (EWAN McGREGOR), from whom she's separated, and their 14-year-old daughter, Jean (ABIGAIL BRESLIN). Their other sister, Karen (JULIETTE LEWIS), arrives from Miami with her flashy fiancé, Steve (DERMOT MULRONEY). And Violet's sister, Mattie Fae (MARGO MARTINDALE), arrives with her husband, Charles (CHRIS COOPER), although their adult son, Little Charles (BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH), who Mattie Fae constantly belittles, ends up late for the funeral.

As they all get together, strained family dynamics built up over the years come to a head again, especially as they must deal with Violet's rude behavior and drug addiction.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens might be interested if they're fans of anyone in the cast or of the source play. Younger teens and pre-teens will likely show little to no interest.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language including sexual references, and for drug material.

To continue reading the review and all of the highly detailed, scene-by-scene listings of the sex, nudity, profanity, violence and more (15 categories):

or

Just $7.95/month or $47/year

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

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.