Queen & Slim | 2019 | R | – 6.6.10

Why is “Queen & Slim” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, some strong sexuality, nudity, pervasive language, and brief drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a sex scene including male and female nudity, several cleavage revealing outfits, and conversations about sex; an altercation during a traffic stop that ends in a police officer’s death, a few shootings that end in death with bloody wounds shown, threats of violence, and a scene of armed police raiding a home and searching for fugitives; and nearly 50 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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When a traffic stop quickly spins out of control, an African-American man and woman on their first date become fugitives after a police officer is killed in self-defense. Also with Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Indya Moore, Benito Martinez and Chloë Sevigny. Directed by Melina Matsoukas. [Running Time: 2:12]

Queen & Slim SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man and a woman have sex in a car and we see thrusting in different positions while they kiss and moan and the woman’s breasts, back, legs and buttocks are seen along with the man’s chest, abdomen and buttocks.
► A man and a woman dance close together and he touches her back and clothed buttock as she tells him to watch his hands, and they nearly kiss. A man and woman lie in bed together (the man wears a T-shirt and boxer shorts and the woman wears a tank top and underwear that reveals cleavage and legs to the hips) and she touches his head gently (no sex is implied).
► A man asks a woman, “What now” after a date and she asks him, “Did you think we were going to have sex?” and they both laugh. A man asks a woman why she chose him on the Tinder app and she tells him that she felt sorry for him; also, a man and a woman discuss using Tinder to find dating prospects. A man makes comments about a woman having had sex with another man before.
► A woman wearing a skimpy, sheer bodysuit answers a door (we see her cleavage, partial nipples through the fabric, and legs to the hips and buttocks as she walks away) and she wears the same outfit in several additional scenes. A woman wears a crop top that reveals her bare abdomen and bottoms that reveal bare legs to the hips. A man wears a T-shirt and boxer shorts in a couple of scenes. A woman wears a tight-fitting short dress that reveals cleavage and bare legs to the upper thighs in many scenes.

Queen & Slim VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A police officer pulls a car over and asks the driver to step out of the car: the officer searches the car’s trunk and finds nothing, he draws his gun and tells the driver to get on his knees when the driver asks if he can hurry up because it is cold; a passenger steps out of the car, reaches for her cellphone and the officer shoots her in the leg (we see blood on her leg and later we see the leg bandaged) before dropping his gun and the officer then slams the driver against the trunk of the car several times until the driver picks up the gun and shoots the officer (we see blood on his face and pooling in the snow on the ground). Police officers with guns drawn surround a man and woman, the woman is shot in the chest (blood sprays and she falls dead) and the man picks up the woman and carries her and he is shot repeatedly (we see blood on his chest and abdomen and blood pools on the ground under them). Many people protest and yell at armed police officers in a street: a man is thrown to the ground and beaten by an officer with a club, tear gas is thrown into the crowd, and a teen boy goads one officer, who tells him to leave or he will be arrested; the teen pulls out a gun and shoots the officer in the head (we see blood spray) and we hear that the boy was killed at the scene.
► A man and a woman run out of gas and get into a truck that takes them to a gas station; the driver of the truck is a sheriff and they hold him at gunpoint and lock him in the trunk of another car before stealing his truck. A man with a gun goes into a gas station and shows the gun to the attendant, who asks to hold the gun; he says he’ll pay for the man’s gas if he can hold the gun and the man turns it over to him; the attendant points the gun at the man for an uncomfortable amount of time and then returns the gun to him and the man leaves angrily.
► Many armed police officers break into a house and search for two fugitives (they are not found). A woman jumps from a second story window and lands on the ground dislocating her shoulder, and a man follows her and helps her put the shoulder back in place; she yells and an officer outside hears her, investigates and finds her and a man as they are stealing a car to get away. A man starts driving in a parking lot and hits a man standing outside; the man falls to the ground and the driver takes him to the hospital. A man and a woman argue and the man hits the woman in the face (no injuries are shown). A man and a woman drive past a field where we see people working, while a man with a rifle on horseback is shown watching them. A man rides a horse in a field and the owner yells at him; he gets off the horse and he and a woman speed away in a car. A man with a shotgun cocks the weapon and points it at a man sleeping in a car; the man in the car recoils in a panic and the other man laughs.
► A woman talks about having had a bad day at work and says, “The state decided to execute my client.” News reports on TV and newspaper headlines cover a police manhunt for two people after the killing of a police officer. A woman in a car makes a comment about police shooting first and asking questions later when a police officer pulls the car over. A man answers the door to a police officer after he was called when the man in the house was arguing with a woman; the man in the house sends the officer away and tells him that the woman is “…my property.” A woman talks about a man needing her and others to worship him. A man talks about a man having served in Iraq and that it “messed him up.” A woman describes that her mother died when she was arguing with a man who pushed her down the stairs and cracked her skull. We hear that there is a reward out for two fugitives.
► We see agents in a house monitoring phone calls in an effort to catch fugitives; the owner of the house hangs the phone up before they are able to trace a call. A woman yells at a man when he refuses to help her and she says, “You owe me.” A man and a woman argue in several scenes about a plan to escape the police. A man yells at his son a few times. A man and woman drive away from the scene of a homicide and the woman throws the man’s phone away to keep them from being tracked. We hear that a woman defended a man after he killed her mother. A woman says that she likes being alone.
► A truck is set on fire in an open area and four people watch it burn. A car overheats and a man pushes the car along the shoulder of the road to a mechanic’s shop. A man and a woman stand in a cemetery and the woman talks about her mother who is buried there. A woman leans out of a car window while it is moving and holds on with one hand; a man tries the same thing and nearly falls out.
► A woman tells a man that he makes a lot of noise when he eats (we hear chomping and slurping). A man tells another man and a woman that they need to shave their heads (we see them each having their hair cut and later with close-cropped hair. A man says that he eats at a particular diner regularly because it is “Black owned.”

Queen & Slim LANGUAGE 10

 – About 57 F-words and its derivatives, 2 sexual references, 40 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, 25 mild obscenities, 14 derogatory terms for African-Americans, name-calling (shady, dummies, bossy, criminal, disgusting, choosy, fake, slow, dumb, jealous, muscle-necked, liar, crazy, boy, trippin’, touchey-touchey), exclamations (wow, chill, shut the [F-word deleted] up, shut-up), 3 religious profanities (GD), 3 religious exclamations (Lord Help Me, I Swear To God, God, a man says a prayer before eating a meal, a man asks what if God wanted me to die). | profanity glossary |

Queen & Slim SUBSTANCE USE

 – Two men and a woman share a marijuana cigarette while one of the men drives. A police officer calls into dispatch saying that he pulled a man over for a possible DUI, a man drinks a beer, a police officer asks a man if he has been drinking (after pulling him over) and the man snickers and says that he doesn’t drink, and people are shown drinking alcohol in a bar.

Queen & Slim DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – The death penalty, racism, police harassment, racial profiling, murder, self-defense, alcoholism, traffic stops, vanity, Iraq, honesty, celebrity, fame, family, running away, good deeds, guilt, revenge, luck, destiny, risk taking.

Queen & Slim MESSAGE

 – The assumption of guilt without probable cause of African-Americans by police officers leads to unwarranted and unnecessary violence.