Vengeance | 2022 | R | – 3.5.7

Why is “Vengeance” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language and brief violence.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied sex scene, several conversations about casual sex and relationships without commitment, a man being shot with the bloody wounds seen, a body being dragged and left in the dirt at night, a death by apparent overdose, a man being thrown when his car explodes, several threats of violence, arguments, discussions of the opioid overdose crisis, and about 25 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A New York writer (B.J. Novak) travels to Texas to attend the funeral of a woman he casually dated, and after meeting her family, his feelings of condescension for Texas culture are replaced by fondness, and he becomes determined to document his trip as a podcast, as well as find out if anyone was responsible for her death. Also with Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Isabella Amara, J. Smith-Cameron, Lio Tipton, Eli Bickel, John Mayer, Louanne Stephens, Zach Villa and Clint Obenchain. Directed by Novak. [Running Time: 1:47]

Vengeance SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A woman comes to a man’s apartment, he invites her in and offers her a drink; we later see them sleeping in bed fully clothed (sex is implied).
► Men and women dance in a bar and women gyrate their hips suggestively a few times.
► While wrestling on the ground one man says to another man, “You like being on top.” Two men talk about relationships, dating and casual hookups and sexual encounters.
► A woman wears low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes. A young woman wears a sports bra in a few scenes that reveals cleavage, bare abdomen and back. A teen girl wears short shorts that show her bare legs to the upper thighs. A man wears shirts unbuttoned to reveal his bare chest and partial abdomen in several scenes. Women dancing in a bar wear low-cut and cropped tops with shorts that reveal cleavage, bare abdomens and legs to the upper thighs.

Vengeance VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A man is shot in the neck and the head and we see the bloody wounds. In a very dark scene, we see oil pumps with flames in the distance and what looks like a body is dragged and then left, as a car speeds away. A man’s car explodes as he approaches it and he is thrown (we see him with some cuts on his face at the hospital later).
► A man punches another man in the stomach and he falls to the ground moaning. A man with a gun shoves through other men toward a man in a bar and he is held back as everyone argues briefly. A man tackles another man to the ground and they wrestle briefly (it is not a serious fight). A man swings at another man and he flinches. Two men threaten a man and surround him.
► A preteen boy carrying a handgun enters a man’s room and the man is alarmed when the boy asks him to help him get the gun unjammed; the boy proceeds to empty the gun and reload it himself. A man offers another man a handgun and he declines. A pickup truck is shown with two guns hanging in the back window in many scenes.
► Law enforcement officials argue about who is responsible for a certain area and they all are dismissive of the others. A man tells another man, “I’ll have to kill you if you tell anyone.” A man says that he wants to settle a situation with a .45. People talk about the kinds of guns they would use in a particular situation. A man says that a woman was murdered and that he plans to avenge her death by killing those responsible. A woman talks about the battle at the Alamo and calls it a massacre. We see boxes called “OXY-boxes” filled with blue tablets and are told that they are smuggled in. We are told about a place called, “the after party,” and that’s where, “all the deaths happen.” A man talks about 41 journalists having been murdered. A preteen boy says that he is afraid of ghosts.
► A man receives a phone call and the man on the other end says, “Your girlfriend is dead,” and, “the funeral is on Sunday”; the man is shocked because he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Mourners gather at a woman’s funeral and a man makes awkward remarks about her. A man talks about an existential crime story and the death of American identity. A woman talks about the breakdown of the family. People (including children) are seen riding horses and sheep competitively at a rodeo.

Vengeance LANGUAGE 7

 – About 25 F-words and its derivatives, 10 phrases [Bless your Heart] that we are told actually mean the F-word are also counted in the religious exclamations category, 2 obscene hand gestures, 3 sexual references, 3 scatological terms, 8 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (quite a handful, downer, effing drop out, selfishness, El Stupido, dork, self-absorbed know-it-all, condescending [anatomical term deleted], first timer, pedos, huge pill popper, crazy Texan family, disgusting, army rejects, glorified meter maids, dumb, wretched), exclamations (wow, my bad, shut the front door, what the whosits), 2 religious profanities (GD), 17 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, oh God, for God’s sake, Godforsaken, God knows who, oh thank Heaven, church stuff, bless your heart, signs that read “faith” hang on a wall in a house). | profanity glossary |

Vengeance SUBSTANCE USE

 – Several references to the Opioid addiction and overdose crisis, a few people are seen inside a tent at a party and it is implied that drugs are made available there, a person is referred to as a “huge pill popper,” and we see boxes called “Oxy boxes” filled with blue tablets. Song lyrics include “red Solo cup,” many people are shown drinking alcohol at a party, and a man drinks alone in his apartment.

Vengeance DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Texas, America, NYC, podcasts, drug dealers and addicts, success, talent, dating, commitment, regret, intimacy, casual dating, politics, ideas, theories, journalism, new media, the Alamo, exploitation, anti-immigrant, truth, facts, stories, myths, cultural appropriation, conspiracy theories, drug cartels, Deep State, collapse of civilization, stereotypes, big energy.

Vengeance MESSAGE

 – People can surprise you, any which way, and that includes yourself. Eventually, everyone will have their own podcast.