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The Benchwarmers | 2006 | PG-13 | - 3.4.4

Three men have lived their lives in the shadow of bullies, and determined not to take it any more, they train to compete with some of the most offensive and meanest Little League teams. With Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder, Jon Lovitz and Craig Kilborn. Directed by Dennis Dugan. [1:20]

SEX/NUDITY 3 - A woman showers (we see her flesh-toned silhouette through frosted glass), her husband joins her and we see his bare chest and back as he gets into the shower.
 A man wearing a men's bikini swimsuit stands in a doorway and invites another man inside to finish their massage (it is implied that they are lovers). A man sitting in the backseat of a car and wearing a men's bikini swimsuit asks two other men, "Who wants to wrestle," and one replies, "I'm in" (there is a sexual implication). Two men share a soda (romantically).
 A woman wears low-cut tops that reveal cleavage in several scenes. A man is shown in boxer shorts and bare-chested. A man is bare-chested, with a towel wrapped around his waist. A man opens his shirt and shows his bare chest. A man opens his shirt and shows his very bruised and swollen nipples (someone had twisted them).
 Two young men kiss two young women.
 Men squeeze and twist each other's nipples in a few scenes, and men squeeze and twist their own nipples in a couple of scenes. There are a couple of references made to movies that contain homosexual sex.

VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A boy is shoved to the ground, and another boy holds him down while another boy squats over his face and flatulates loudly.
 A man puts a cigarette out on his tongue. A man wearing cleats steps on another man's hand (we see it red, bruised and bandaged later).
 A man is grabbed by several young men and boys and hung from his underwear on a fence post. A young man hides in a shrub, another man pounces on him and apparently hits him (we hear a commotion).
 A jogger is struck by a baseball bat that was accidentally thrown (he is knocked off the jogging path). A boy is struck in the stomach by a baseball and knocked to the ground. A man is struck in the crotch by a stone thrown from a lawnmower and he falls to the ground in pain. A man is struck in the chest by a ball. A baseball catcher is struck in the mask by a fast pitch and knocked to the ground. A young man is struck in the arm by a pitched ball during a game and he cries. Several people fall off bleachers when trying to do the wave.
 Men squeeze and twist each other's nipples in a few scenes, and men squeeze and twist their own nipples in a couple of scenes. A man opens his shirt and shows his very bruised and swollen nipples (someone had twisted them).
 Several boys pile on top of a young man and pull on him. A man breaks a bat over his knee in anger. Men play hot potato with a real hot potato and one young man does not let go of the potato; he yells, and then he throws the potato through a window (breaking the glass).
 A man is struck in the head with an egg and the egg breaks, a boy wearing a helmet is struck with an egg, and a man is pummeled with many eggs.
 A robot mows a lawn, it is distracted and mows over a dog sleeping in the grass -- we see the dog with half of its fur shaved off but otherwise uninjured. A young man throws a bat and three squirrels are shown falling from a tree.
 A boy pulls a man's pants down around his ankles and the man stumbles as he runs; the man then pulls a boy's pants down and he stumbles as he runs (their boxer shorts and knees are visible). A man throws plastic dishes at another man, yells at him and hides from him.
 A young man jumps up and knocks his head on a bar (he's wearing a bike helmet and he's OK). A young man runs into a barrier wall and knocks a panel down. A young man is afraid of people and of the sun and hides in a small closet to avoid both.
 Men take batting practice by hitting mailboxes with bats as they drive by (we see the boxes splinter). A man punches the head off a mannequin. A young man throws a bat and it crashes through the windshield of a car.
 One character picks his nose repeatedly in several scenes: In one scene he asks a friend what to do with what he has picked, and then eats it. A man vomits on another man (we see goo on the man's face). A man vomits and we see the spray, and another man vomits (we hear gagging). A young man holds a beetle in his baseball mitt, a ball lands in the mitt squishing the beetle (we see the goo on the ball) and the man licks the goo. A man urinates in a urinal and a man urinates in a shower (we hear the trickle). A man hands a 2-liter bottle of urine out of the closet where he is hiding. A man flatulates. People talk about bullies spitting on them. A man burps. A young man eats sun block in several scenes. People talk about bullies spitting on them and a boy spits when he speaks and a man does the same (he is pretending).

LANGUAGE 4 - 1 obscene hand gesture, 9 sexual references, 13 scatological terms (1 mild), 17 anatomical terms, 16 mild obscenities, 3 derogatory terms for the mentally challenged, 4 derogatory terms for homosexuals, 3 derogatory terms for vertically challenged people, name-calling (loser, punks, freak, spaz, idiot, chicken, nerd, demon, dork), 3 exclamations (dang it, frickin'), 2 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man drinks many beers and a bottle of tequila while playing baseball. Several men drink alcohol and one holds a cigar. A man smokes a cigarette while playing baseball. A reference is made to steroid use.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Bullies, jocks, physical abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, friendship, love, family, competition, regret, forgiveness, homosexuality, mistakes, agoraphobia, fear of the sun.

MESSAGE - Realizing when you make a mistake and trying to make up for it is the only way to move on.

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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