Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot | 2019 | R | – 6.4.10

Why is “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language throughout, sexual content, some nudity and alcohol abuse.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of sex scenes with moderate nudity, sexual activity depicted in a line-drawing cartoon and on a pen shaft, discussions of sexual arousal after spinal injuries, references to, as well as the results of a drunk driving auto accident, several accidents and near accidents to a man in a wheelchair, arguments, discussions of addiction in 12-step program meetings, many scenes of drinking and drunkenness, and over 70 F-words. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

---

Based on the autobiography of cartoonist John Callahan (1951-2010): Celebrated as both brilliant and despised as offensive, Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) discovered his calling after a drunk-driving accident at 21 caused him to spend the rest of his life as a quadriplegic, struggling with alcoholism, depression, relationships and acceptance. Also with Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, Tony Greenhand, Beth Ditto, Mark Webber, Ronnie Adrian, Kim Gordon, Udo Kier and Carrie Brownstein. Directed by Gus Van Sant. [Running Time: 1:54]

Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A woman wearing a full slip (cleavage and shoulders are seen) straddles a man lying in bed (his bare chest and abdomen are seen) and she thrusts and moans; another man enters the room (wearing jockey-style underwear that reveals a bulge at his groin) and drops a tray of food as he backs out embarrassed. A nurse wearing a short dress straddles a quadriplegic man’s face while he lies in a hospital bed and she thrusts and moans as he presumably performs oral sex. A man holds a pen, turns it upside down and we see a picture on the barrel of the pen of a partially nude man and woman (we see the woman’s bare back and underwear and the man’s bare chest and abdomen) with the woman on her knees in front of the standing man (implying oral sex). A cartoon depicts a lawyer thrusting into his client from behind (both men have their pants around their ankles) while standing in a courtroom.
► Two men go to an exotic dance club and we see a woman on stage wearing underwear (her bare breasts, abdomen and legs are briefly seen). A woman bathes a man seated in a chair (we see his bare back, buttocks and legs). A nurse removes a quadriplegic man’s clothes while he lies in bed and we see his bare chest and shoulders. A woman discusses “Reflexogenic Erections” with a paralyzed man and recommends that he perform oral sex on a woman in order to experience an erection himself; she uses a poster of a male figure with outlines of the genitals. A man (a caregiver) bathes another quadriplegic man in a tub and we see his bare chest and legs to the hips. Two women perform physical therapy on a quadriplegic man in a whirlpool (we see his bare chest). We see a man’s bare chest and abdomen while he lies in bed. A man showers and we see his bare shoulders and back. A couple of men are shown on a beach and we see bare chests, shoulders, abdomens and legs. A woman wearing a swimsuit it seen (bare shoulders, cleavage, abdomen, back and legs are shown). A woman wears a low-cut sun dress that reveals cleavage, bare shoulders and bare back. A woman’s short top reveals her bare abdomen. A man wears short shorts that reveal his bare legs to the upper thighs and dances around a room. A woman wears a low-cut T-shirt that reveals cleavage.
► A woman kisses a man goodbye. A woman kisses a man on the cheeks.
► A man in a hospital bed asks a nurse to sit on his face (proposing oral sex). A man makes a comment about a woman having “sophisticated L.A. sex.” A woman says that she took off all her clothes and walked down the street. A man says that he wants to go to another party where there are “hotter babes.” A man sings the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind,” making them seem sexual. A man talks about performing street poetry and recites a poem that makes several allusions to male genitals. A man identifies himself as a gay activist. A man talks about getting his boogie on and that he’s going to a gay disco. We understand that a man has contracted AIDS.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 - Two men in wheelchairs cross a railroad track; one man's chair gets stuck and the other, in a motorized chair, pulls him off the tracks just before a train speeds by. A comment is made about a car crash scene and a "dead guy under a car," as we see a flashback to a scene where a man was thrown from a car and he is shown lying on the ground motionless with glass all around the road. A man in a wheelchair is thrown out of the chair when he hits a bump on a curb; we see him lying on the street until several boys help him back into his chair (we do not see injuries). A man in a motorized wheelchair falls off a skateboard ramp and onto his side (several boys run to help him and we see no injuries).
► A man is shown in a hospital bed and wearing a neck brace and he is flipped over in a mechanized bed every so often; we understand that he is paralyzed and doctors talk about him in several scenes describing his injuries. We hear that a man slammed into a pole going 90 MPH in a car; one man was thrown from the car and paralyzed and the driver suffered scratches. A man speeds in his motorized wheelchair in several scenes (he is belted in). A man in a motorized wheelchair that breaks down gets stuck in a rainstorm and yells at a woman over the phone when she refuses to help him.
► A man yells at another man who is caring for him and they argue briefly. A man yells at a woman and calls her insulting names. A man yells at another man in an office and storms out. A man stands up and yells at two women in a recovery meeting. A man makes comments about wanting to strangle his mom. A man makes frequent references to his mother not wanting him and he was put up for adoption. A woman jokes about a man in a wheelchair not being welcome at a meeting; he retorts, "No dogs, no quads?" A man says that after he was born he was left in the care of nuns in case his mother changed her mind about giving him up. A man talks about praying to God and making pacts with the devil. A woman says that she has cancer of the heart. A man imagines his mother talking to him and telling him that she loves him. A man talks about having been found while having a seizure.
► A man drives a car, rolls the window down and vomits out the window while the car is still moving (the passenger takes the wheel) and we see goo splatter out of his mouth and onto the side of the car (they hose the car off later). A man vomits in a pond and we see goo. A man talks about having 2 pairs of pants; one with feces stains and one without. A woman is shown feeding a man who is unable to use his hands and we see food spill down his shirt. A man tries to open a bottle of wine using his teeth and he drops the bottle on the floor. A man sees a bottle of vodka on a refrigerator and cries when he cannot reach it.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot LANGUAGE 10

 - About 73 F-words, 8 sexual references, 26 scatological terms, 12 anatomical terms, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (slave, sick, moron, selfish, hick town, shady character, gomers, piglets, tart, funky, pretty boy, rednecks, unstable troublemaker, drunk, stupid, black sheep, fat cow), 4 religious profanities (GD), 15 religious exclamations (For The Love Of God, Jesus Christ, Chuckie [a replacement name for God], Oh God). | profanity glossary |

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot SUBSTANCE USE

 - A woman talks about getting a prescription for Valium. A man buys a bottle of alcohol and drinks from it while ducked behind a car in an alley, a man walks on a beach and drinks from a bottle of alcohol, a man drinks from a bottle while driving a car, a man describes a time when he woke up without a hangover because he "was still loaded from the night before," people drink alcohol at a bar and two men drink many drinks, people smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol at a party, a man hides behind a tree in a park and drinks from a bottle of wine, a man tries to open a bottle of wine using his teeth to bite the cork out and he drops the bottle on the floor, a man sees a bottle of vodka on a refrigerator and cries when he cannot reach it, a man drinks from a bottle of liquor in a bathtub, people in a bar drink and a man orders beers for everyone, and a man says that he started drinking when he was 13 and never stopped. A man lights a cigarette in bed, a man smokes while showering, a man smokes in a house, a woman puts a lit cigarette in a paralyzed man's mouth and he smokes it, a man smokes in his house in several scenes, and a man says he's going to have a smoke and leaves the room.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Alcoholism, near fatal car crashes, quadriplegia, disability, abandonment, adoption, forgiveness, tragedy, pain, shame, racism, Ku Klux Klan, alienation from family, excuses, chaos, depression, boredom, divorce, sobriety, political correctness, derision, Alcoholics Anonymous, guilt, 12-step programs, welfare benefits, faith, AIDS, self-destructive behavior, craft vs. art, expression vs. perfection.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot MESSAGE

 - Sometimes a seemingly catastrophic event may show a new life path. Irreverence and forgiveness can be a saving grace.