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LBJ | 2017 | R | - 2.3.5
Covering the period from 1961 to 1964, from the election of President John F. Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) and his assassination in 1963, to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson and the passage of the Civil Rights Act and other progressive social programs. Also with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bill Pullman, C. Thomas Howell, Michael Mosley, Michael Stahl-David and Richard Jenkins. Directed by Rob Reiner. [1:38]
SEX/NUDITY 2 - A husband and his wife lie in bed together and she snuggles next to him (she is wearing a low-cut nightgown that reveals cleavage) and they kiss. A husband and his wife kiss. A husband rests his head in his wife's lap and she caresses his head and hair.
► A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders. A man is shown seated in a bathtub (we see his chest). A man sits on a toilet in a bathroom with the door open while talking to two men seated nearby (we see his bare thighs, knees and calves).
► A woman talks about suitors, trying to figure out how to "steal a kiss." A man talks about his father throwing him out of their car and making him walk home when he was young; he goes on to describe the physical characteristics of the woman that stopped to pick him up (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).
► A man speaks to his tailor over the phone and describes being well endowed while placing his hand on his fly, and then gesturing that he needs more fabric in the crotch.
VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - Gunshots ring out during a motorcade and we see a man grab his throat, and we then see a splatter of blood spray from his head as his head is thrown back and then he slumps forward; we hear that two men suffered gunshot wounds and one man died.
► We see newsreel footage of violence during protests where people are sprayed with fire hoses, and tear gas is deployed and they are beaten by police and splattered with food and snapped at by large dogs.
► Many people are rushed into a hospital room where they wait for word about two men who have been shot; they pray and when they are informed about one man's death, they prepare to leave the hospital. Many people gather to mourn the death of John F. Kennedy outside the White House and at the funeral where we see soldiers shoot into the air.
► A man shoots a rifle and is thrown back onto the ground; he says his family shoots Nazis. A man pantomimes cutting another man's genitals and pounds his hand on a table. A man pounds on a desk in anger and slams a phone back into its cradle angrily.
► A man argues with many people in different settings, as well as over the phone in several scenes. A man argues about the likelihood about a Catholic candidate being elected president in the US. A man says, "I'll knock his teeth out." A woman says that her husband is afraid that people won't love him. A man talks about 10 vice presidents out of 36 went on to become president. A man is described as having an enormous ego. A man asks another man, "Why don't you like me?"
► A man talks about his father throwing him out of a car and making him walk home for 6-7 miles in the heat (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details). A man tells a joke about Abraham Lincoln waking up from a 3-day binge drinking spree and exclaiming, "I freed the what?"
► A rifle is shown hanging from a rack on an office wall.
► A man sits on a toilet in a bathroom with the door open while talking to two men seated nearby and we see him wad up toilet paper to wipe (we do not see any feces or hear defecation but we do hear a flush).
LANGUAGE 5 - About 9 F-words, 7 scatological terms, 8 anatomical terms, 21 mild obscenities, 10 derogatory terms for African-Americans, name-calling (liberal, pack of rabid dogs, liar, one term senator, show horse, dear, bastard, moron, worthless, racist, politically irrelevant, fool), 4 religious profanities (GD), 7 religious exclamations ("God Bless You" on a sign, Jesus, Christ, Lord, So Help Me God).
SUBSTANCE USE - A man uses an inhaler in a couple of scenes. A man drinks a glass of whiskey in his office and offers another man a glass (the other man declines), two men drink whiskey together, men at a dining table are shown with glasses of whiskey and wine, a man takes a gallon container of ice cream and a glass of whiskey to bed where his wife takes the ice cream away from him, and a man is shown with a glass of whiskey in many scenes throughout the movie. A man smokes a cigar in his office, men smoke cigars at a dining table, and man smokes a cigarette at a dining table.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Lyndon Baines Johnson, John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy assassination, the Civil Rights Act, racism, Vietnam, Bobby Kennedy, Addison's disease, equal employment, compromise, slavery, forced labor, Reconstruction, Board v. Board of Education, integration, Lockheed, Martin Luther King, equality, voluntary integration, secession, freedom, injustice, hate, social and economic oppression, persecution, conspiracy, a parent's love, betrayal, uncertainty and doubt.
MESSAGE - Sometimes doing the right things might diminish one's popularity. Life is precious and time is fleeting.
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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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.
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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.