Second Act | 2018 | PG-13 | – 4.3.5

Why is “Second Act” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some crude sexual references, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes scenes of women wearing tight-fitting clothing that reveal cleavage, several sexual jokes, innuendo and references, some minor physical altercations that do not result in injury and some shouting matches, a flock of doves that are killed by a truck, and 1 F-word. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A woman (Jennifer Lopez) in a low-paying job wants to make a better life for herself. She finds her chance at a cosmetics firm that receives a fake résumé claiming her to be an accomplished sales consultant with an elite university degree. Also with Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Treat Williams, Milo Ventimiglia and Freddie Stroma. Directed by Peter Segal. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in Mandarin with English subtitles. [Running Time: 1:43]

Second Act SEX/NUDITY 4

 – A woman at work says she knows what “masticator” means (implying it means masturbation); another woman says that she bets the manager uses his left hand. A woman jokes that she and her female coworkers swap husbands. A woman tells a man that she is kinky and holds his hand; he smiles. A man says to his girlfriend, “I’m not a piece of meat,” but jokes that they can have sex if she wants to; she smiles and leaves. A woman tells another woman she may get “knocked up.” A woman remarks that she is menopausal. A teen boy tells two women that they have “porn names” they can find in an internet search engine; he tells them his name and they grimace. A woman insults a man, telling him he has something smaller than his small brain. A woman flirts with a man, giggling and smiling at him but he does not respond. A man and a woman live together and he wants to have children and she does not, and he breaks up with her and she moves in with a friend.
► Two women wear several deeply cut necklines that reveal cleavage and one neckline reveals cleavage and the bottom of the woman’s breasts. A woman wears a tight jersey dress that is sleeveless and is so tight she has trouble walking and her buttocks protrude markedly. Several women wear off-the-shoulder blouses, V-necks that reveal cleavage and strapless dresses that bare shoulders and cleavage. A woman wears tight slacks that fit like pantyhose in two scenes. A woman reaches into her jeans at home and adjusts her underwear in front of another woman.
► A man and a woman kiss and hug briefly in three scenes and for several seconds in one scene. Two women dance and gyrate to an upbeat dance song in their kitchen and do several pelvic thrusts. A woman dances a slinky tango at a party, revealing her legs to above the knee and significant cleavage in a bustier. A man and a woman at home dance closely as they listen to a love song.
► A woman holds the hand of a man, who looks surprised. A man and woman stand on a stage together and she slips her hand into his back trouser pocket.

Second Act VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 - A flock of doves flies into a delivery truck and bursts into loose feathers (we see no blood or gore). A man and a woman who are angry with each other dance at a Christmas party and she throws him into a Christmas tree, destroying it, but not injuring him. A woman at work lightly slaps another woman in the face several times and the other woman slaps the first in the face lightly and walks away. A woman falls over a shopping aisle barrier, but is uninjured. A woman on a sidewalk purposely trips another woman and the second woman falls on her face, but gets up without injury. A woman that is afraid of heights rides a glass elevator with her face pressed to the door; the elevator stops, the doors open, and she falls out onto the floor but is unhurt.
► A woman argues with two men after being passed up for a promotion she deserves: she argues with one of the men several times and he implies that she is too old to advance in her career and she quits. A woman argues with different women for several seconds in three scenes, she argues with her boyfriend a few times and he breaks up with her. A young boy about 7 years old speaks profanities a few times to guests, and his mother makes him leave the room. A woman attempting to repeat Mandarin phrases from an earpiece at a dinner meeting accidentally insults a British man who does not understand, while a Chinese man laughs. A woman finds the daughter she gave up as a baby, now grown, and both women cry.
► A man in a lab finds a hairball or cat feces lying on a report (a cat sits nearby). A woman with a green facial masque screams and complains that it smells horrible, washing it off quickly. During a sculling competition, one boat hits another boat broadside and the camera cuts to men carrying away a broken boat (no evident injuries).

Second Act LANGUAGE 5

 - At least 1 F-word, 22 scatological terms, 26 anatomical terms, 22 mild obscenities, name-calling (crazy, insane, wacko, stupid, idiots, ladies, scumbag, vomit-green, umpire, cheap chemists, doofus, selfish, educated people, Cinderella), exclamations (oh boy, oh my goodness, mind your own business, oh F-word, Jiminy Crickets, shut-up, keep your mouth shut), 14 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh My God, Oh God, God, Holy Cow, Jesus). | profanity glossary |

Second Act SUBSTANCE USE

 - A bottle of wine and two beer bottles are seen on a bar top, three women sip wine and several men and women hold glasses of wine in a bar, a woman in a café has a glass of wine (she does not drink it), a man sips from a glass of wine in a café, a glass of wine is shown on a café table, two women drink from beer bottles at home, two women drink wine at home, many men and women at a party drink champagne, a woman spills out her martini and another woman sips wine, two glasses of wine are shown on a dinner table, and a winning baseball team pours bottles of beer over one another and cheer on TV.

Second Act DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Class prejudice, the rich, the poor, Ivy League, gender discrimination, misogyny, competition, lies, honesty, taking risks, working hard, earning a college degree, importance of work experience, teamwork, friends, family, relationships, adoptions, biological family reunions, sadness, loss, forgiveness, reconciliation.

Second Act MESSAGE

 - You can be whatever you want to be, if you are honest and don't get in your own way. Street smarts are more effective than Ivy League credentials.