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Lay the Favorite | 2012 | R | - 6.3.8

Based on the true story of an illegal bookmaker (Rebecca Hall) and her close call with the law after a series of bets go bad. Also with Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joshua Jackson, Laura Prepon and John Carroll Lynch. Directed by Stephen Frears. [1:34]

SEX/NUDITY 6 - As three women sunbathe we see two of them topless (their bare breasts are visible); two of the women discuss the third woman (she's wearing a bikini top) becoming a stripper and exotic dancer. We see two young women sunbathing and it is implied that they are topless (we do not see the women's bare breasts). On two different occasions, we see a young woman in a bathtub; soap bubbles cover her and no nudity is visible. Throughout the movie a young woman wears short shorts and low-cut tank top or tube-top.
 A young woman and a man kiss passionately in a hotel hallway; the young woman tells the man that she has a lot of sexual tension and wants to go to his hotel room (sex is implied).
 A young woman wearing underwear (brief-style underwear and bra is seen dancing suggestively as a man watches; we then see the same young woman wearing a bra and shorts dancing suggestively in front of an older man. A young woman wearing a short skirt rubs her legs against a man's leg. We see a young woman wearing a skirt and bikini top rubbing against a man and dancing suggestively. We see a woman and a young woman dancing vigorously (the woman's clothed breasts are seen shaking up and down).
 A young woman and a man kiss. A man and a woman kiss. A young woman and a man kiss.
 A young woman tells a man that she used to be a "private dancer," stripping and dancing for men and a pornographic website, which would display nude photographs of herself performing oral sex on herself. A young woman shouts at a man, telling him that a group of men are having sex with 17-year-olds. A young woman tells another young woman that she thought the young woman should be "taking her clothes off" to pay a man back. A woman warns a young woman not to have sex with her husband. A young woman implies to another young woman that she thinks the young woman is having an affair with a man; the young woman disregards it.

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - An older man holds a gun up in front of a young woman and threatens her in the reflection of a mirror; the young woman is upset, the man points the gun directly at her, and the young woman then leaves the house.
 A man shouts and repeatedly punches a television, breaking the screen. A man shouts at two men and then shoves everything off a crowded table. A man throws a wad of money across the room while shouting at two men.
 A young woman screams at a man, the man screams back and the young woman screams a threat at the man, saying that she wants to stab him in the groin muscle. A man shouts at a young woman, telling her to get out of his car; he then opens the door and the young woman stumbles out of the car. A young woman cries in a panic, shouting that she should "off herself" after failing a man. A man tells several men and women that he "knows a guy" who would saw off a man's feet and threaten to kill him; one of the men is surprised by the man's offer and turns it down. A man screams at a young woman and two men. Throughout the movie a man shouts angrily. A man shouts at a television angrily. A man shouts at another man angrily. A wife screams at her husband over the phone. A young woman screams at a man over the phone. A man shouts at a young woman over the phone. A man shouts at an unseen person over the phone. A man throws his phone across a golf course. A man threatens another man saying that he hopes a celebrity chokes on a "wire coat hanger." A man advises a woman that to get a job another person would have to "kick the bucket." A man tells a young woman that he was convicted of gambling and had to serve time in a halfway house.
 We see multiple screens of televisions showing various sporting events, including two hockey players punching one another.
 We see a woman with bruises on her face (her face is swollen and sore after a facelift); she winces in pain when a young woman places an ice pack on her face.
 We see a man stumble as he runs across a deck. A man pantomimes stabbing himself in the throat with a pen.

LANGUAGE 8 - About 39 F-words and its derivatives, 4 sexual references, 4 obscene hand gestures, 16 scatological terms, 5 anatomical terms, 4 mild obscenities, name-calling (scumbag but not a thief, degenerate, maniac, very selfish person, cheap, miserable, losing her mind, such a bore, fat, jinx, idiot, crazy, selfish, moron, scumbag), 2 derogatory term for mentally handicapped, 6 religious profanities, 32 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - We see a man snorting cocaine and a young woman shouts at him for doing cocaine when he should be working, and a man tells a young woman that he "freebased" as a young man and never told his mother. A man gives a woman a cocktail and they drink together, an older man and a young woman (his daughter) have drinks in front of them at a bar, two young women drink out of bottles in brown paper bags (they are implied to be alcohol), we see men drinking alcohol at a party, a man drinks shots of liquor at a party, and a woman drinks liquor to the point of drunkenness.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Gambling, exotic dancing, regret, sports betting, losing bets, making risks, risks vs. rewards

MESSAGE - Sports betting is very risky.

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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