Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain | 2021 | R | – 3.4.9

Why is “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language throughout.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes, an obsessive relationship, implied infidelity, a suicide, scenes of people in countries suffering from starvation and desperation, several animals being killed by a man (with blood shown), the 2006 bombing of Beirut, drug addiction, and over 40 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Documentary exploring the life and inner demons of the influential author, traveler and chef through archival footage and interviews with his friends, associates and family; Bourdain committed suicide in 2018. With Ottavia Bourdain, David Chang, Helen M. Cho, David Choe, Christopher Collins, Morgan Fallon, Josh Homme, John Lurie, Alison Mosshart, Doug Quint, Eric Ripert, Lydia Tenaglia and Tom Vitale. Directed by Morgan Neville. [Running Time: 1:58]

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A woman stands in front of a large crowd of people and says, “I was raped by Harvey Weinstein.”
► A tabloid shows photos of a woman and a man holding hands, hugging and kissing. A man and a woman kiss in a movie scene. A man stands outside a strip club and we see several women inside. A man and a woman hold hands and hug in several scenes.
► Several women wearing tight-fitting dance shorts are shown dancing in the background of a scene and we see them thrusting and gyrating. A shirtless man dances with several women (we see his bare chest and abdomen). A shirtless man is shown a couple of times and we see his bare chest, abdomen, back and several tattoos on his chest and arms. Women wear micro-mini skirts and we see their legs to the upper thighs. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage and the outline of her nipples are visible through the fabric. A man wears swim trunks in a few scenes (we see his bare chest, abdomen, back and legs to the upper thighs). A woman wears a cropped top that reveals her bare abdomen.
► A man talks about being an addict to a number of things apart from drugs (like sex, over eating, etc.). A man talks about a woman breastfeeding an infant (we do not see this). A woman talks about a man’s book describing chefs’ “salty adventures.” A man says that a car is like being naked in mink underpants. We hear that a man’s marriage begins to fall apart.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – We hear about a man having committed suicide and that he was completely sober when he did it.
► Flames burst into the air and we hear that a fuel depot at an airport in Beirut was bombed; children talk about a lot of bombs falling near them and that they knocked down their houses. People walk through an area in rubble in Haiti after an earthquake and a line of people fight over food as it is passed out to them; we see a man raising a strap over another man in order to keep him in line. A man is shown missing part of one arm and part of one leg and using crutches; we hear that he was wounded in a war.
► Two people hold a live cobra as one cuts out its heart using scissors (we see blood and the beating heart in a bowl) and a man eats the heart. A man cuts the head off a chicken and we see blood on the man’s hands. A man stabs a pig wrapped in a net with a spear (we see blood pooling on the ground). A man and a young girl pretend to vomit and we see a toy brain fall into the man’s hands and on the floor as if they vomited it. A classic painting depicts a woman cutting off a man’s head (blood spurting and spraying is shown and the blade presses through his throat). A painting of Medusa shows her severed head with writhing snakes in place of her hair.
► Men climb a rock cliff and one man jumps off the top and into the ocean below. A man shoots a shotgun into the air toward a flock of ducks and we see one floating in the water as a dog retrieves it; we later see several dead ducks laid out on a cabinet. Two men set explosives on a beach and we see them blowing up plastic bottles (there are no injuries). Two men shoot arrows into the picture of another man. Two men play-fight with long knives in a kitchen. A man is shown loading a gun. Men in kitchen settings are shown holding large knives and one photo shows a man holding his hand in such a way that it looks like he is missing part of a finger. A few movie scenes show men fighting with swords. People fight using Jujutsu on mats and pin each other to the floor. A man gets a tattoo (we see the needle pressing into his skin). A woman is shown with a large tattoo across her chest and arms.
► A man talks about thinking about death for at least a few minutes every day. A man says that all chefs are drunks. A man says that saying something negative about another man would be like “Kicking Santa Claus in the crotch.” A man says, “I’d like to live as a normal person.” A woman says that a man smoked and drank his way across the world. We hear that a woman took up Jujutsu in order to be able to protect her daughter. A man is described as “always rushing.” A man talks about being an addict to a number of things apart from drugs (sex, over eating, etc.). A man says that he considered himself worth saving when he gave up drugs. A man talks in a therapy session about having fantasies of hurting other people or himself. A man talks about having “car envy.” A woman is described as a “crazy [F-word deleted] Italian actress.” People talk about a production team changing and that it became “anything goes.” A man prepares to speak to two asylum seekers on a TV show and we see the scene interrupted to be reset as the two people become more uncomfortable about seemingly not being taken seriously. We hear that a man was fired from a production team. A man makes a couple of seemingly joking remarks about killing himself.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain LANGUAGE 9

 – About 42 F-words, 1 obscene hand gesture, 4 sexual references, 19 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (obnoxious, anti-social, salty adventures, media ho, lame, mayhem, ugly scenario, control freak, grandma, sick, idiots, awkward, insane, bourgeois, maniacal, crazy, stressed, weary, exhausted, crazy [F-word deleted] Italian actress, junkie, dope fiend, chaos, voyeur, stupid, miserable, angry, weird [scatological term deleted], royal pain in the [anatomical term deleted]), exclamations (friggin), 1 religious profanity (GD), 3 religious exclamations (e.g. For Christ’s Sake, Jesus, Oh My God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man talks about his heroin and cocaine addictions, a man talks about another man quitting heroin and other drugs cold turkey, a man says “Proceed to smoke weed,” and a man swallows a packet of a powdered medication that he says is an aspirin mixture and he says that he takes at least 10 of them a day. A man is seated at a table with an open beer bottle next to him, a woman drinks a glass of wine, a painting includes a bottle of rum, people drink wine with meals in a few scenes, two men drink tequila at a bar, three men drink beers, people drink liquor and beer in several bar scenes, and a man says that all chefs are drunks. People smoke cigarettes in numerous scenes throughout the movie in indoor and outdoor settings, and a man says that smoking is the first thing he does every morning.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Suicide, addictive personalities, drug addiction, obsession, betrayal, power, parenting, agoraphobia, anti-social tendencies, fame, celebrity, communication, travel, “Apocalypse Now,” “Heart of Darkness,” “Vanishing Point,” fascism, family, romantic love, depression, insecurity, karma, cruelty, loneliness, regret, Me Too Movement, activism, guilt, admiration, success, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Laos, Haiti, Algeria, Egypt, Benghazi, Hong Kong, counterculture, mediocrity, ambiguity, Lebanon 2006, war.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain MESSAGE

 – Suicide can be the culmination of an inner life full of anger and pain, even when outwardly someone seems happy and loved.