Why is “The Surfer” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language, suicide, some violence, drug content and sexual material.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes discussions of infidelity and teen pregnancy, a man shooting another man and then himself, a man bitten on the hand by a rat, a snake slithering on a man’s hand, a car being set on fire, a man suffering from heat and sun-induced visions and flashbacks, references to a man committing suicide, people yelling at and mocking a man, and at least 43 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A man (Nicolas Cage) with dreams of buying back his family’s home overlooking his favorite childhood surfing spot, is quickly derailed when he encounters a group of surfers that have taken over the area and refuse to allow non-locals to surf there. Also with Finn Little, Rahel Romahn, Michael Abercromby, Alexander Bertrand, Julian McMahon, Greg McNeill and Rory O’Keeffe. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan. [Running Time: 1:40]

The Surfer SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A young woman sits with an older man and enters a cabin (it is implied that they are having a relationship). A young man and a young woman hug at a beach party.
► We hear about a young woman being a young man’s girl, but that she became involved with a man and became pregnant and the young man was devastated.
► A seemingly used condom is shown on the ground. Men wear swim trunks that reveal bare chests, backs, abdomens and legs to the mid-thighs in most scenes. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage, bare shoulders and legs.

The Surfer VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – Three people surround and attack a man and a woman as they approach a beach to surf; they are punched and kicked and the man is shown with a very bloody face as they drive away. A man hits a man on a beach with a sign that he has pulled out of the ground; they fight and punch each other, and one man straddles the other man and hits him several times in the face before shoving a dead rat in his mouth (they both have bloody mouths and faces). A man with a gun holds a teen boy at gunpoint and threatens him, the man lets him go and we hear a gunshot and see that he has shot a man (blood splatters) and then himself. A dog bites a man on the leg and thrashes while growling; the man kicks the dog, it whimpers and pulls away and the man leaves (we do not see an injury).
► People douse a car with gasoline and a man throws a lit match in it setting it on fire; the owner of the car yells and runs toward a beach carrying a gun and yelling and threatens people with the gun. A man approaches a group of people gathered on a beach and demands that they return his surfboard; one young man charges him and they fight; one lunges toward him with a broken bottle and the man walks away. A man runs away and other people chase him, throw rocks at him (he is struck in the head) and swing torches around taunting him.
► A man finds a loaded gun hidden in a bathroom; he takes practice shots at a tree and points it at a dog (he does not shoot the dog). People are branded in a few scenes and we see the reddened flesh. A man wakes up to see that his car has been stolen. A man yells at people vandalizing his car and runs toward them stepping on broken glass on the ground (we see him with shards of glass in his foot and the wounds bleed). A man pushes another man and spills a cup of coffee on him. A dog chained near a drinking fountain barks aggressively at a man that walks toward it. People pound on a car where a man is seated and he gets out yelling. A man finds a rat in his car and tries to get it out; the rat bites him on the hand and he swings the animal by the tail slamming it against the car killing it and throws it (we see a bloody bite on the man’s hand and he winces in pain). A man picks up a dead rat and prepares to bite into it; he is interrupted and puts the dead animal in his pocket. Three teen boys harass a man, push him and throw his possessions around.
► A man bumps into another man as they pass on beach access steps; one man tells the other, “Don’t live here, don’t surf here,” and becomes aggressive about making the man and his teen son leave. A man picks up a phone from a public phone booth and becomes upset when he sees that the handset cord has been cut. A man finds that someone has painted “Kook” on the side of his car. A man holds another person underwater while others surround them, chanting and cheering and the man surfaces. A man confronts a man showing a family a house and argues with him about whether he knows him. Several scenes show what appear to be flashbacks and a man’s face is bloody. A man has a flashback to a man lying motionless on the beach in the water.
► A man’s car battery is dead and he asks a young woman for a jump from her car. A man undresses to use the bathroom and when he comes out of the stall, he sees that someone has taken his jacket, shoes and socks. A man tries to buy a pizza from a delivery person and pays $100, but finds the pizza on the ground when he returns. A man’s phone has died and he asks a person running a coffee stand to charge it for him; the coffee stand attendant tells him he has to leave his watch as collateral and they argue, but he does so.
► A man laughs and seems to be losing control; a young woman gives him water and he uses her phone. A man talks about a young man being jumped and hitting his head on a curb (he died). A man threatens another man saying that someone will make him watch while knocking the teeth out of his son’s head. A man talks to another man about what his father did being “a terrible thing.” A man tells a man and a woman that the localism at the beach is pretty hostile and they should be careful. A man is awakened by a police officer knocking on his car window and the officer tells him he has to leave or he’ll be charged with vagrancy. A man accuses another man of killing his dog. A man yells at people on phone calls in a few scenes. A sign on a beach reads, “Locals only.” A man on a phone call asks another man why he wasn’t wearing any shoes in a business meeting. A man talks about his son and implies that he is dead. A man posts signs around a beach saying that he has lost his dog. A man says that his father died (it is implied that he committed suicide) when he was young and they moved to California. A woman tells a man over the phone that he has to sign papers so that she can get married to another man and that she is pregnant (he appears upset). A man tells other men that they need to be who they are and say what they think; he says, “Every man has an animal inside” and that you can’t be a man if you don’t suffer.
► A man vomits in a toilet a few times (we hear retching and splattering and see goo). Feces are smeared on a public drinking fountain and a sign in a public restroom indicates that the water from the tap is not potable. A bird defecates on a man’s shoulder. A man finds small eggs in a nest and eats them (we see yolk dribble out of his mouth). A man drinks water from a sink and we see that it is brown; the man spits it out. A man sees a puddle on the ground and drinks from it. The sun beats down on a man in numerous scenes and he seems to be impacted by the heat; his vision becomes blurred. A bird squawks and it sounds like a mocking laugh. A snake slithers across a man’s hand (it does not bite him). A large spider is shown clinging to a branch. People surf in large waves in several scenes. We hear sounds of waves pounding on the shore in introductory scenes. Large lizards are seen on trees and the ground in a couple of scenes. A man brushes his teeth and spits on the ground (we see saliva). A small pig prepared to cook is carried to a beach cookout. A man forages through garbage and finds food with maggots wriggling on it.

The Surfer LANGUAGE 9

 – About 43 F-words, 4 obscene hand gestures, 1 sexual hand gesture, 2 sexual references, 10 scatological terms, 5 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (mate, pit bull, fat fingers, pathetic, pedo, buzzkill, riff-raff, undesirables, moron, bum, yuppies, coz playing, sickening, surfing gangsters), exclamations (shut-up, hang tough, bloody, chill, dull down the attitude, clear off, bugger off, you’re harshing my vibe, that’s a good one, no worries, boys will be boys), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. I swear to God, for God’s sake). | profanity glossary |

The Surfer SUBSTANCE USE

 – A glass pipe used to smoke a drug is shown on the ground, people smoke what looks like marijuana cigarettes, and a man prepares a hypodermic needle with something unidentified and injects a man in the arm (it seems to be a sedative). People drink bottles of beer around a beach fire in several scenes, we see empty bottles of wine on a table, people carry coolers and bottles of beer to a beach cookout, and a man guzzles from a bottle of liquor. People drink beer and smoke cigarettes around a fire on a beach.

The Surfer DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Dashed dreams, being a real man, localism, suicide, ego, maintaining order, trust.

The Surfer MESSAGE

 – Self-ascribed pressure to succeed makes for unreasonable expectations.