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The Gospel | 2005 | PG | - 4.3.4
A young singer (Boris Kodjoe) runs away from his preacher father (Clifton Powell) when his mother dies. Years later, when his father becomes ill, he returns and discovers his father's congregation is in disarray. Also with Idris Elba, Nona Gaye, Clifton Powell and Aloma Wright. Directed by Rob Hardy. [1:43]
SEX/NUDITY 4 - A husband and wife kiss in bed, the husband kisses the wife deeply and she says, "I can't." A man and a woman lie in bed together sleeping (the man is bare-chested and he puts on his underwear as he gets out of bed; nothing more is shown).
► Scantily clad women (cleavage, bare abdomens and bare thighs are exposed) dance around a man singing on a stage (they caress the man and dance suggestively while he sings "Let Me Undress You," with references to being "sexy"). We see a painting of a nude woman (bare back and buttocks are shown), a woman wears an off-the-shoulder top that reveals bare shoulders, and a woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders.
► A man and a woman kiss, a man and a woman walk with arms around each other, and a man tries to wake his wife by kissing her on the shoulder (she continues sleeping). A man and a woman hug.
► A man asks another man if he is having sex with a woman. A man talks about the life of a music superstar and all of its trappings (beautiful women, etc.). A man talks about a woman's wish to be celibate until marriage. A man makes a comment about another man, "bumping and grinding." A young woman flirts with a man and talks about his song "Let Me Undress You." A young man says to another young man, "You trying to get at my cousin?" and the other man says, "She's trying to get at me."
VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A man punches a man in the face, he falls to the floor, he gets up and punches the man back; several other men separate the two fighting men. A man throws a bottle against a wall and the bottle shatters.
► A young man yells at his father, pushes him away and says, "I hate you." A husband and wife argue bitterly. Two men argue about money. A man euphemistically refers to breaking his foot off in someone's hind parts.
► A young man sits at his dying mother's bedside (we see the woman with breathing tubes) and we hear later that she has died. A man sits at his dying father's bedside and grieves when he dies. We see people gathered at a funeral and we see people grieving.
LANGUAGE 4 - 8 sexual references, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (knucklehead).
SUBSTANCE USE - A man drinks from a bottle of alcohol while driving a car, a man drinks from a bottle of wine, a man and a woman drink wine with dinner, a woman drinks a glass of wine, and people are shown drinking alcohol in a club scene. People are shown smoking and drinking alcohol in another club scene, and a man smokes a cigar.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Parenting, faith, the "business" of religion, death of parents, responsibility, grief, extortion, delusions of grandeur, ambition, emotional demons, progress, priorities, lying, arrogance, insecurity, friendship, jealousy, success, father's love, publicity, perspective, evangelism, family, roots, perfection, ego, infertility, prostate cancer.
MESSAGE - Being good is more important than looking good. Finding and following the intended path of your life will lead to happiness.
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.
Saturday Night - 4.4.10
Piece by Piece - 1.2.3
Joker: Folie à Deux - 7.7.10
Monster Summer - 1.4.3
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