The Lovebirds | 2020 | R | – 6.5.10

Why is “The Lovebirds” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sexual content, language throughout and some violence.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a scene of members of a sex cult having sex with multiple partners and including some nudity in front of an audience, an implied sex scene, a few kissing scenes, and a few cleavage revealing outfits; a vehicular homicide with the car driving over the victim several times, a scene of an implied multiple murder, a man is kicked in the chest by a horse and a woman is threatened with hot grease, several fight scenes with kicking and punching, and death threats and arguments; and about 70 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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On the brink of a breakup, a struggling couple (Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani) accidentally becomes central to a murder case. When they become suspects, they must stay alive, clear their names, and make some important life decisions. Also with Anna Camp, Paul Sparks, Catherine Cohen and Kyle Bornheimer. Directed by Michael Showalter. [Running Time: 1:26]

The Lovebirds SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A sex cult includes hundreds of members wearing robes and masks in an auditorium: two men using computerized voices choose ten Bingo numbers and ten people walk backstage, until they are seen onstage as they climb onto a large circular bed; the camera cuts to a close-up of bare male and female shoulders and the side of a female breast as the men and women writhe (suggesting orgy sex) until a man shouts, ” Stop!” and we see the breasts and abdomen of a woman getting off the bed; we then see bare buttocks, backs of thighs, and backs of several men and women as they run through the curtain and offstage.
► A man and a woman kiss passionately for several seconds, once in one scene and twice in another scene. A man and a woman exit an apartment building in the morning after a first date and plan to have breakfast (sex is implied).
► People are shown placing photos of clothed sex cult members into brown envelopes to send to the members with cash demands (they are blackmailing).
► A woman wears miniskirts and a dress that reveal bare legs to the top of the thighs. A woman pulls the shirt off a man as the camera zooms in (we see his bare shoulders). A woman pulls her shirt up, we see the bottom of her bra and her abdomen, and she quickly pulls the shirt down again. We see the profile of a woman wearing a tube top with thin straps (we see shoulders and folds of flesh over the sides and back of the top; no cleavage is shown).

The Lovebirds VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A bicyclist slams into a moving car’s windshield and the man and the woman inside shriek and curse; the cyclist is shown on the ground and has a bloody face, but gets up and flees back on the bike as another man pounds on the driver’s side window and commandeers the vehicle; after a long chase, the new driver hits the cyclist hard in a dead-end alley and the rider slams to the ground with a loud groan, not moving, and the driver backs up and runs over the man three more times, gets out, points a handgun at the man and the woman in the car, and runs away.
► A couple meets a woman, walk into an alley and we see the man struck over the head by another man; the scene cuts to the couple tied to wooden chairs in a barn, with the other woman threatening them with a large skillet of hot grease until another man enters wearing a mask and pushes the man tied in a chair to a door, and the door opens to reveal the back end of a horse that kicks the captive in the chest and onto his back; the woman with the skillet brings grease to the captive woman’s face, but the captive kicks it away and in a series of kicks, punches, and hits over the head with objects, the captives free themselves, kick their captors unconscious and run away.
► A man and a woman interrogate a frightened young man after kicking, punching, pounding his head into a wall, and slapping him; a man with a handgun enters and we hear shooting and shouting off-screen as the couple flees down a fire escape; the camera pans to show half a dozen young men lying face down on a floor with a little blood here and there and we later hear that they all died.
► A man forces another man and a woman onto a dock and onto a boat at gunpoint, saying, “I’m sorry I have to kill you guys”; the woman kicks the gun away and along with the man, she jumps at the gunman, flailing with kicks and punches and after several seconds the gunman chokes the other man and the woman points the gun, finally shooting the man in the chest (we see some blood) and the man and the woman kick the gunman overboard, but he climbs out of the water until the other man hits him over the head with a heavy object and he falls back into the water.
► An undercover officer drives a man and a woman and turns around and points a gun at them; he stops at a dock and we see the couple with their hands in zip-ties as the officer exits the car and the other man tries to kick out a window and fails, the woman leans over the front seat and grabs the cigarette lighter in her teeth and melts the zip-ties on the man’s wrists (he says she is burning his hands and we see the glow of the lighter).
► A woman wearing stiletto heels tries to kick out a glass door but fails; a man punches it several times halfheartedly, also failing and they walk up a creaking wooden fire escape and the man punches the window glass ten times before it cracks and the woman uses a spiked shoe heel to clear the glass and it crunches on the floor.
► A man and a woman bend over a dead man, shout, and accuse another man and a woman of murder when they exit their vehicle; the accused couple runs away with the dead man’s cell phone. A man on a gurney is wheeled to an EMT truck with an IV bag with a line running to one arm.
► Many men and women wearing masks hover over a man and a woman, and then rush out of the scene, followed by several police officers entering with guns; the officers arrest a man and a woman and take them to HQ, where they are released.
► A man and a woman have several extended loud arguments, insulting each other. In a few scenes, a man and a woman argue with another man. A man and a woman shout at a drunken couple in their Uber ride (please see the Substance Use category for more details). A woman says to a man, “I will kill you. I will wring your neck.”

The Lovebirds LANGUAGE 10

 – About 70 F-words and its derivatives, 8 sexual references, 26 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 7 mild obscenities, name-calling (crazy, insane, idiot, weird, freaky, creepy, garbage, tramp, gross, arrogant, ignorant, know-it-all, stupid, regular racist, question mark, lame, shallow, self-satisfied failure, white-woman fingers, unicorn throw up, Brown Man, Bumble, Senator Burrow, Chuck-a-Lug Chuck, Date Rape McGee, Bret Kavanagh), exclamations (shut-up, be quiet, wow), 1 religious profanity (GD), 13 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh My God, Thank God, Jesus, “Your offering [human sacrifice implied] will be to the gods”). | profanity glossary |

The Lovebirds SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man tells a police detective that his female friend used to help people get high and even made some money doing it (we do not see any drugs). Men and women at a bar hold tall and short glasses of clear drinks (no one drinks), a person obscured by another person raises a glass to drink (we do not see the drinking), a drunk couple slurs their words and the man holds a very tall plastic drink glass, men and women at a house party hold short glasses of cocktails (no one drinks), a man and a woman in a diner order “two alcohols” and are told the diner serves no alcohol, and a man on the street carries a bottle of wine in a paper bag.

The Lovebirds DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Prejudice, sex cults, social-media obsession, mistaken identity, relationships, marriage, love, jealousy, resentment, honesty, understanding, reconciliation, teamwork, helping the police.

The Lovebirds MESSAGE

 – Unexpected challenges can strengthen a rocky relationship.