Never Rarely Sometimes Always | 2020 | PG-13 | – 5.4.4

Why is “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “disturbing/mature thematic content, language, some sexual references and teen drinking.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of passionate kissing scenes, a masturbation scene on a train, unwanted sexual advances, many discussions of sexual activity and pregnancy, and a few cleavage and abdominal revealing outfits; discussions of abortion with details of the procedure, discussions of abusive and threatening relationships, a teen girl undergoing a pre-procedure and then sedation for an abortion, abortion protestors outside a women’s health clinic, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A 17-year-old girl (Sidney Flanigan) discovers that she is pregnant and she realizes that she will need to leave her small Pennsylvania town to travel to NYC for an abortion. Without money and support, nothing is easy about her journey. Also with Talia Ryder, Ryan Eggold, Sharon Van Etten and Brian Altemus. Directed by Eliza Hittman. [Running Time: 1:41]

Never Rarely Sometimes Always SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A man on a train smiles at a teen girl, unzips his pants and begins to masturbate; the girl leaves the train at the next stop (we just see him reaching in his pants).
► A teen girl finds another teen girl and a young man kissing passionately, leaning against a pillar in a station; it is implied that this act is in exchange for money to buy bus tickets to go back home. A man and a woman on a train kiss and hug. A young man touches a teen girl’s clothed thigh.
► A teen girl working at a grocery store counts her cash drawer and puts an envelope trough a slot where a man on the other side takes her hand and kisses it (she pulls away); he does the same thing to another teen girl and he repeats this action every day. A man in a grocery store asks a teen girl cashier if she wants to come to his house after work for a party and she declines. A man in grocery store tells his employee (a teen girl) that he’d get lonely if she left. A young man speaks to a teen girl on a bus and asks for her phone number, which she gives him. A young man watches as a teen girl bends over to bowl.
► A teen girl has an ultrasound and we see goop on her bare abdomen, we see an embryo on a screen and we hear a rapid heartbeat. A teen girl puts a pregnancy test stick into a cup of urine and we see that the result is positive. A woman in a health clinic asks a teen girl about her menstrual cycle and other detailed questions about sexual activity. A woman talks to a teen girl about adoption options for her baby and asks her if she is “abortion minded.” A teen girl says that she had sex for the first time when she was 14 years old and that she has had six partners. A teen boy makes a suggestive facial gesture toward a teen girl. An Elvis impersonator at a high school talent show sings and gyrates his hips.
► A teen girl sits on a toilet and urinates into a cup in a clinic (we see her bare legs; her genital area is in heavy shadow). Teen girls wear tank tops in a few scenes that reveal cleavage and bare abdomens. A teen girl undresses for a procedure and we see her bare back and legs to the upper thighs.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A teen girl takes a large handful of Vitamin C tablets presumably to induce a miscarriage; she is unsuccessful, and seems sick while at work, rushes away from her station and vomits in a toilet (we hear splattering and coughing and do not see goo). A teen girl on an operating table flinches when something is inserted into her vagina (off-screen). A teen girl has an ultrasound and we see goop on her bare abdomen, we see an embryo on a screen and we hear a rapid heartbeat. A teen girl goes to a women’s clinic to have a pregnancy test and we see her urinate into a cup (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details); we see the urine in the cup later. A teen girl puts a pregnancy test stick into a cup of urine and we see the result is positive. Two teen girls brush their teeth in a public restroom and spit (we hear the spitting); one girl wipes under her armpits and reaches into her pants to wipe herself (we do not see flesh). A teen girl goes to the bathroom and we see blood on a sanitary napkin.
► A teen girl pokes herself in the finger with a safety pin, then sterilizes the pin, numbs her nose and inserts the pin through the flesh of her nose to pierce it (we see blood and she winces as she presses the pin through). A teen girl punches herself in the abdomen repeatedly and we later see bruises (she’s trying to induce a miscarriage).
► Two teen girls alone in New York City sleep on subway trains and stations all night when they have no place to stay. Two teen girls take a bus from their hometown into New York City and walk through the city and subway trying to find their way to a women’s clinic. A teen girl leaves another teen girl and goes with a young man to get money; she doesn’t return for a long time and the other girl becomes worried and goes searching for her (she finds her unharmed).
► A woman talks to a teen girl about a procedure that she will be undergoing and asks her many questions about her medical history, sexual activity and the type of her current relationship. A woman asks about a teen girl’s relationship and whether it is abusive, and if the girl ever feels threatened or forced to do things. A teen girl is told that she is 18 weeks pregnant and that she will have to undergo a procedure that takes two days and is invasive. A man complains about his daughter always being in a foul mood and speaks to her dismissively. A teen girl sings a song with lyrics that include, “He makes me do things I don’t want to do.” A teen girl says that she is not feeling well and her father says, “It’s in her head. Get her head checked.”
► A woman shows a teen girl a video of a man talking about the violent nature of abortion. Many protestors are shown gathered outside a women’s health clinic as they sing and pray. A teen girl throws a glass of water into a teen boy’s face at a restaurant after he made a suggestive gesture toward her. A teen girl sings in a high school talent show and a boy in the audience yells something at her; she becomes embarrassed but continues singing.
► A teen girl steals money from a cash register at her workplace and puts it in her pocket. A teen girl searches the Internet for information about abortion laws in Pennsylvania and methods of self-administered abortions. Two teen girls duck under a turnstile in a subway because they don’t have money for a ticket.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always LANGUAGE 4

 – 1 obscene hand gesture, 2 sexual references, 2 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, name-calling (moody), exclamations (bug off, freakin’), 1 religious exclamation (Jesus Christ). | profanity glossary |

Never Rarely Sometimes Always SUBSTANCE USE

 – A teen girl drinks from a medicine bottle, a teen girl takes a prescription pill after a medical procedure, and a teen girl takes a large handful of Vitamin C tablets. People in a restaurant drink beer with meals, a young man says that no one cards in NY, a young man and a teen girl drink a pitcher of beer at a bowling alley, and a man a woman and a teen girl drink beers in a home. A man smokes a cigarette in a house.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Teen pregnancy, abortion laws, unavailability of safe abortions, adoption.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always MESSAGE

 – Deciding to have an abortion is a difficult decision and access to legal and safe abortions can be very challenging.