Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

Chemical Hearts | 2020 | R | – 5.4.6

content-ratingsWhy is “Chemical Hearts” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language, sexuality and teen drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a sex scene and partial nudity, several kissing scenes between two teen girls, and between a teen boy and a teen girl, discussions of love and heartbreak and how the brain changes in adolescence, several conversations and references to a car crash that killed a teen boy and injured a teen girl, several arguments and dealing with the guilt and grief of the loss of a loved one, teen drug and alcohol use, and at least 10 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.


When a new girl (Lili Reinhart) moves to town, an introverted teen boy (Austin Abrams) finds himself drawn to her and as their relationship blossoms, he discovers that she harbors a heartbreaking secret — and that he might not have what it takes to help her heal. Also with Sarah Jones, Kara Young, Coral Peña, C.J. Hoff, Shannon Walsh and Bruce Altman. Directed by Richard Tanne. [Running Time: 1:33]

Chemical Hearts SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A teen boy and a teen girl kiss passionately in his room, she removes her stockings (we see her bare legs) and her top (we see her bare back) and she climbs into bed where the boy joins her and lies on top of her; the teen grill applies a condom for the boy (under covers) and they moan as he thrusts (the scene ends and we see them sleeping in bed later).
 A teen boy and a teen girl go to the boy’s room, they sit on a bed and the girl touches the boy’s neck tenderly, they kiss, she hears a song playing and storms out of the room and out of the house. A teen girl confesses to another teen girl that she “hooked up with a lot of girls” after they broke up, they talk and kiss passionately. A teen boy and a teen girl kiss while in a street. A teen boy and a teen girl kiss in several scenes in different locations (a library, hallways in school, etc.). Two teen girls kiss in a few scenes. A teen boy and a teen girl dance in a school hallway. Teen boys and teen girls dance at a party.
 A teen boy tells a teen girl that another teen girl seems to be “into you again.” A teen boy searches the internet for information about a new girl at school. A woman says that her adult daughter is in a “war on love.” A teen boy talks to a teen girl about a love poem and what he thinks the poet is saying. A teen girl talks about another teen girl “ghosting” her. A teen girl asks a teen boy, “Ever had a girlfriend? A boyfriend?” and he answers no to both. A teen boy talks about another teen boy having committed suicide and that the first boy still had a “Hustler” magazine that the other boy took from his father; the first boy says he buried the magazine under the tree where the boy hanged himself because he felt weird keeping it, but that it was disrespectful to get rid of it any other way. A teen girl takes a teen boy to a spot where there is a remembrance marker for a teen boy that died and she tells him that she wants to move on with him; they kiss. A teen girl tells a teen boy, “You are an extraordinary collection of atoms.”
 A teen girl takes off a long dress and leaves it in a pool of water (we see her wearing bra and underwear that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen, bare legs and partial buttocks); she tells a teen boy that she was going to marry a teen boy in that dress (the boy died in a car accident). Teen girls wear low-cut tops and shorts that reveal cleavage and bare legs in several scenes. A teen girl wears a low-cut corset-type top that reveals cleavage. A teen boy sleeps in bed shirtless in a few scenes and we see his bare chest and abdomen. A teen girl wears a low-cut tank top that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders.

Chemical Hearts VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A teen girl talks about a car accident, where a car swerved on a road causing the car she was in to hit a wall and flip; we hear later that a teen boy died in the crash. We read newspaper articles about a teen boy dying in a car crash.
 We hear yelling coming from inside a house and a woman storms out, gets in her car and backs into a garbage can before speeding away. A teen girl tries to run on a track and stumbles and falls; she cries, pounds on her leg with a metal cane and screams. A teen boy runs in front of a car in a driveway and is nearly struck.
 A teen boy finds a teen girl wading in a pool of water where she drops photographs of her and her boyfriend (he died in a car crash); she thinks the boy in the room is the boyfriend and tells him that she is responsible for the crash that killed him. A teen girl yells at a teen boy in a few scenes and he pleads with her to help him understand what is going on; she storms away in a few scenes. A teen girl cries and blames herself for causing a car accident that killed a teen boy and she says, “It should have been me.” A teen boy talks about another teen having committed suicide. A teen boy talks about wanting to have a writing platform to be able to express himself. A teen boy says, “Nothing worth writing about ever happened to me.” A teen girl tells a teen boy, “I don’t like driving.” A teen boy says, “My grades aren’t good enough to have my own car.” A woman says that her adult daughter is in a “war on love.” A woman says that a man that she had a relationship with cheated on her. A woman describes the physiological manifestations of heartbreak causing physical pain. A teen girl talks about another teen girl “ghosting” her. A teen girl talks about wanting to have all her sins wiped away. A teen girl talks about the stars being the ashes of the dead. A teen boy tells another teen boy to follow her and the second boy says, “I’m not going to stalk her.” A teen girl says, “Being young is painful,” and talks about the pressure on teens to grow up. Teens talk about the human brain going through an “upgrade” and refining itself as people pass through their teen years to adulthood. A teen boy talks about putting his finger in an electrical socket. A teen girl does not come to school one day and we hear that it is the anniversary of the car accident that injured her and killed a teen boy.
 A teen girl sits at the grave of a teen boy and talks as she places some flowers on it. A teen boy and a teen girl walk through woods, through a rusted gate and into an abandoned manufacturing plant where they wade into a pool of water and feed the fish living there. A teen boy smashes a piece of pottery in a pillowcase and glues it back together, painting the breaks with gold paint; he identifies the process as a traditional Japanese art form. A teen boy confronts a teen girl about living in her now dead boyfriend’s room and wearing his clothing. A teen boy is upset after a teen girl makes it clear that she doesn’t want to date him. A teen girl talks about someone vomiting (we do not see this).
 A teen girl walks with a limp and uses a cane to walk and we see a deep surgical scar on her knee in one scene. A woman breathes heavily and holds her chest when she talks about a man cheating on her.

Chemical Hearts LANGUAGE 6

 – About 10 F-words, 10 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (vandal, odd hobby, dumbest, dumb, that chick, confused, blissed out, you wouldn’t understand), exclamations (no please), 6 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh My God, Oh God, Jesus). | profanity glossary |

Chemical Hearts SUBSTANCE USE

 – A teen boy is shown smoking marijuana from a pipe at a party and he says that he is “messed up” later, and a teen boy says that another teen boy will have “kush” at a party. Many teens at a party are shown holding and drinking from cups that it is implied contain alcohol, a bottle of beer is shown on a table in front of a man, a teen girl talks about her mother drinking a lot, a teen boy drinks something that could be alcohol from a plastic water bottle, and a teen girl talks about being a “beer pong champion.”

Chemical Hearts DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Teenage years, brain development, friendship, parents, suicide, death, grief, childhood, adulthood, powerlessness, labels, fatal car accidents, socializing, legacy, infidelity, heartbreak, guilt.

Chemical Hearts MESSAGE

 – Trauma and grief are difficult to recover from, especially as a teenager.

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.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This