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Flawless | 1999 | R | - 5.5.10
Robert De Niro plays a homophobic retired security guard who takes singing lessons from a drag queen (Philip Seymour Hoffman) after suffering a serious stroke. Also with Barry Miller, Wanda De Jesus, Skipp Sudduth, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Nashom Benjamin, Christopher Bauer and Scott Cooper. [1:51]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - Lots of graphic sexual innuendo and talk, including references to fellatio and prostitution. Two obviously post-coitus scenes: in one, we see a woman in bed and in the other we see a man and woman in bed (no nudity is visible). We see dancers in cleavage-revealing tops, a scantily clad woman in a phone-sex commercial and a cake in the shape of a woman's breasts.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - Gunfire is exchanged in one scene; two people are killed but we don't see them being shot. A man is shot in the shoulder (we later see the wound covered with a slightly bloody bandage) and a man is stabbed in the leg and then shot (he dies). A man pierces another's foot with a high heel and later stabs him in the head with it (it's implied that the man is killed). A man collapses during a shoot-out; we think he's been shot but later learn he's had a stroke. Men kill a pet bird, some men repeatedly punch and kick a man, a man is restrained by several others and repeatedly punched in the stomach and a man is punched in the nose (it gets slightly bloody). A man slams another's head into the floor, a woman kicks a man, a man drops a flower pot on another's head, two men fall down a staircase while scuffling and a man knocks another down some steps with a wheelchair. Several men chase a woman and hold her against a wall and two groups of men scuffle. Many instances of threatening with guns and a few people are nearly shot; also, a man holds a gun to his own head.
LANGUAGE 10 - More than 150 F-words, lots of anatomical references, lots of scatological references, several mild obscenities, lots of insults and name-calling.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Stroke victims, drag queens, homophobia, homosexuality, intolerance and tolerance, drug dealers, drug use, prostitution, infidelity, murder, abuse, suicidal thoughts.
MESSAGE - Everyone deserves a second chance; we often fear and even hate what we don't know or don't understand.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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