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"TOWN & COUNTRY"
(2001) (Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton) (R)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate None Extreme None Mild
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None None None Heavy
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Extreme Minor Heavy Moderate Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: After two men cheat on their wives by having affairs with others, they try to figure out what to do and how to get on with their lives.
PLOT:
Porter Stoddard (WARREN BEATTY) is a successful Manhattan architect who's just had an affair with Alex (NASTASSJA KINSKI), a beautiful cellist. While he's successful at hiding that from Ellie (DIANE KEATON), his wife of twenty-five years, his best friend, Griffin (GARRY SHANDLING), isn't as good at keeping his trysts secret from his wife, Mona (GOLDIE HAWN), who's recently followed him and discovered his affair.

While she doesn't realize that his lover was actually a man, Mona proceeds with divorce arrangements with lawyer David "The Shark" Suttler (BUCK HENRY). Meanwhile, Porter tries to maintain his normal family routine - which is anything but - with his young adult kids, Tom (JOSH HARTNETT) and Alice (TRICIA VESSEY), their respective others, Holly (KATHERINE TOWNE) and Omar (MARC CASABANI), and his housekeeper, Yolanda (TERRI HOYOS) and her shirtless, jungle lover, Alejandro (DEL ZAMORA).

Deciding to help his longtime friend, Porter flies to Mississippi with Mona to one of her homes where they end up in bed together. When they return, they agree to act as if nothing happened, but Ellie has gotten wind of Porter's infidelities - with the cellist - and he soon joins his friend in the proverbial doghouse.

The two men then decide to get away from it all by vacationing in Griffin's cabin in Sun Valley, a ski resort where they meet Auburn (JENNA ELFMAN), a hardware store clerk who take them to a Halloween party, and Eugenie (ANDIE MacDOWELL), a pretty but ultimately strange woman whose wealthy parents (CHARLTON HESTON & MARIAN SELDES) are even more bizarre than her.

As Griffin tries to get up the courage to announce that he's gay, and Porter deals with the various women in his life, the two try to figure out what to do with their lives, all while their wives do the same.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're fans of someone in the movie, this older cast is unlikely to be of much interest to many kids.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For sexuality and language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • WARREN BEATTY plays a wealthy and successful New York architect who has affairs with several women, and then lies about them to his wife.
  • DIANE KEATON plays his wife who can't believe he's cheating on her. She uses some strong profanity in anger.
  • GARRY SHANDLING plays a friend of theirs who cheats on his wife with a transvestite and turns out to be gay. He briefly uses strong profanity.
  • GOLDIE HAWN plays his wife who ends up having an affair with Porter and then keeps that a secret from Ellie, her best friend. She uses strong profanity.
  • NASTASSJA KINSKI plays a cello player who has an affair with Porter.
  • ANDIE MacDOWELL plays an oddball of a woman who wants to have sex with Porter, but seems obsessed with her dolls and has them have sex while she and Porter hold them. She also uses some brief, but strong profanity.
  • JENNA ELFMAN plays a hardware store employee who gets Porter and Griffin to attend a Halloween party with her and then tries to do some sexual thing with Porter, but doesn't get the chance as they're interrupted.
  • BUCK HENRY plays the lawyer who works with both couples during their troubled times.
  • CHARLTON HESTON & MARIAN SELDES play Eugenie's crazed parents, with him being a gun-toting and loony father and she a wheelchair bound, foul-mouthed harpy.
  • JOSH HARTNETT and TRICIA VESSEY play Porter and Ellie's young adult children, who separately have sex with their respective girlfriend and boyfriend in their parents' home.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated comedy. Profanity consists of at least 7 uses of the "f" word, while other expletives are uttered, as are various colorful phrases. Some sexually explicit dialogue is used, while several sexual encounters are seen (with movement and some nudity), heard (with plenty of exaggerated moaning, pleasure and squeaking sounds) or implied (we see people in bed).

    Most of them involve married people having affairs (with one turning out to be gay) and lead to tense family scenes involving talk of divorce, while other bad and disrespectful attitudes are also present. Various characters drink and smoke, while a minor character burns down a cabin and uses a shotgun to shoot a Halloween costume, and some slapstick style material is also present.

    Although it's questionable how many kids will want to see this film (with all of its older stars), if you're still concerned about its appropriateness for them or yourself, you may want to take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific explanations of what occurs in the film.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • The two main couples have wine with dinner, and some champagne is then poured.
  • Griffin opens some champagne for himself and another person.
  • Various people have drinks at a party, including Griffin and Porter.
  • The maid's boyfriend pours himself a tall glass of liquor.
  • People have drinks in a club.
  • People have drinks in a club, including Mona who has a drink and Porter who has a beer in front of him.
  • Mona has a drink.
  • Some people appear to be drinking at a ski lodge.
  • Eugenie's father fixes a drink for himself and his wife.
  • Auburn shows up with a bottle of champagne that Griffin then pours for them and Porter.
  • People have drinks at a Halloween party where Porter asks Griffin to get him another margarita.
  • People have drinks at a reception and some red wine is accidentally knocked over onto Ellie's outfit.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • None.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • We see that Porter is having an affair, and then later see that Griffin is having an affair as well (with a transvestite). Later, Porter and Mona have an affair, and all of them deny or lie about such behavior to others.
  • It seems that Mona had an affair sometime in the past as Ellie reminds her of it, but Mona blows it off by saying that she and Griffin were having a fight anyway and that the paramour was foreign, so it didn't really count.
  • Griffin states and believes that men's adulterous behavior is genetic and programmed into them.
  • Eugenie's mother is a cantankerous old bitty who uses foul language.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • None.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Shotgun: Carried by Eugenie's father and used to shoot a hole in a Halloween costume (of a polar bear) and briefly to threaten a few people.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "That's really f*cking funny," "Don't f*ck it up," "P*ssy crazed slob," "Balls" (testicles), "What the Sam hell?" "Homo," "Take your finger out of your bung hole," "What are you doing with that big swinging d*ck of yours?" "Chicks" (women), "What the hell is that?" "Great asshole hunter" and "Sleazebag."
  • We see that Tom's girlfriend, Holly, has a pierced tongue.
  • Eugenie's crazed father pours gasoline on Griffin's cabin and then lights a match (we don't see him ignite it, or it burning, but do hear the "explosion" of it catching on fire).
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • None.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 7 "f" words (2 used sexually, as are several uses of the term "laid," and 1 used with "mother"), 1 "s" word, 4 terms using male genitals ("c*cks*cker," "c*ck" and "d*ck"), 3 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy" and "muff"), 3 damns, 2 asses (both used with "hole"), 2 hells, 1 S.O.B., and 10 uses of "Oh my God," 4 of "Oh God," 3 of "For God's sakes," 2 of "God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Jesus Christ," "My God" and "God forsaken" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We see Porter sitting up in bed (but under the covers) as he watches Alex (a female) play the cello while nude. We see a shot of her from behind (bare back and top of bare butt) as well as from the front where the cello blocks any explicit views of nudity. It's thus suggested that they've had sex or fooled around.
  • Porter briefly gets on top of Ellie on the bed and kisses her when they arrive back home (both are clothed), but are interrupted by the maid's shirtless boyfriend.
  • The camera briefly focuses on some women's clothed butts as they pass by on a street (some men stare at them as well).
  • We see Griffin follow a woman to a bed and breakfast where they're to have an affair. We see the redhead pull off her top (and see her in her bra), but as she then takes off her bra and wig, we quickly see that she's really a man. For the rest of the film, Griffin struggles with coming out of the closet (announcing that he's gay).
  • As Porter gets up in the middle of the night for a snack, he slowly walks through the house where he hears sexual sounds coming from his son's bedroom (with Holly), then from his daughter's bedroom (with Omar) and finally from the maid's bedroom (with her boyfriend). The sounds include both male and female moans/groans (sometimes loud and exaggerated for comic effect), repeated exclamations of "Oh God" and/or "Oh my God" and repetitive bed squeaking noises. The various men involved in that sexual activity then join Porter, one by one, for a snack and we see the maid's boyfriend in some skimpy underwear that shows a noticeable bulge in the front. He then makes some comment (in another language) and gestures something about the liquor he's drinking (or the worm in it) making him better in the bedroom.
  • We see Porter in bed with Alex under the covers, apparently after sex. As they lie there, we see the tops of her bare breasts/cleavage.
  • Porter meets Eugenie on a plane and she states, "I love to f*ck architects."
  • Mona shows some cleavage in various scenes.
  • Mona climbs into bed with Porter in a friendly fashion, but then suddenly kisses him. We then see several views of her on top of him (from behind, showing her bare back as she's sitting up, and through a window that also shows her bare back as she lies on top of him and they kiss). We then see them under the covers after they're done.
  • Ellie tells Porter that she saw a movie with her young adult kids that had sexual humor in it that went over her head, and then asks him if he knows what "corn holing" is. She then asks him if he thinks that Mona is "getting laid," and then adds that she thinks Mona has a high aptitude for sex.
  • Porter and Mona have sex again, and we hear sexual sounds and see their feet moving from their movement (that isn't seen).
  • We then see Mona sitting/straddling on top of Porter who's lying on the floor as they have sex (and we see the side of her bare butt). Ellie then shows up and interrupts them, however, and they scramble to get their clothes back on.
  • After hearing that Porter's having an affair with someone else, Mona asks him, "Are you f*cking a cellist?" Later, Ellie confronts him as well and mentions the cellist with the "big, resonating box between her legs." She then tells him that this is about him and his "big, stupid c*ck" and calls him a "p*ssy crazed slob."
  • Griffin misunderstand what he and Porter are talking about (thinking that the latter is mentioning their two wives together sexually) and states that it gets him hot and wonders if they've ever kissed (with tongues).
  • Eugenie's mother refers to her husband as a "muff diver," and then says that her problem is that he "won't do it to me anymore" (meaning sex) and refers to his "limp carrot."
  • After Eugenie's father assigns her and Porter to different rooms, Eugenie (who's an adult), sneaks into the room where Porter is sleeping and is distraught to see her childhood dolls on the floor. Her father, who saw who sneak by in her negligee, then walks up to her door where he hears sexual sounds (loud moaning). We then see that it's Eugenie moving a teddy bear sexually against a toy figure that Porter's holding and making those sounds. Her father then comes in and confronts them and Porter states that he's floppy (the toy he's holding) and wonders if the father knows Floppy. He replies, "I know Floppy well." Nothing else happens, however, as the father leaves (after making some bizarre comments) and Porter then says that he's sleepy, causing Eugenie to state that they'll just cuddle (as she's under the covers with him).
  • Finding Porter and Griffin alone in a remote cabin, Auburn asks if they're gay.
  • A young woman talks to Tom about the connection between the blood supply to the brain and the penis in men.
  • Porter playfully chases Auburn around out in the snow, with the two eventually ending up (still in their Halloween costumes of a polar bear and Marilyn Monroe) in the "69" position, with her commenting that there must be some sort of hole in the crotch of his bear costume.
  • Auburn shows some cleavage.
  • Ellie asks Porter if there's any woman at a reception that he hasn't slept with.
  • SMOKING
  • Eugenie, Suttler and Mona each smoke once, while a few miscellaneous characters also smoke.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • The various affairs put a severe strain on both Porter and Ellie's and Griffin and Mona's marriages, including them visiting a lawyer to discuss separation and/or divorce.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • The aftermath of having an affair.
  • Homosexuals and what it takes for them to "come out of the closet" (reveal that they're gay).
  • VIOLENCE
  • Some slapstick material has Porter falling off his roof (we only see him pass by a window and don't see the impact - he's otherwise okay); Porter hitting a golf ball that strikes another man on his buttocks (but he's okay); Porter rolling over in his sleep and unknowingly knocking Griffin from a cabin loft (we hear, but don't see the impact on the floor); and Eugenie's wheelchair bound mother crashing into/running over various things in their house.
  • Eugenie's father shoots a large hole into an empty Halloween costume of a polar bear, pours gasoline on Griffin's cabin and then lights a match (we hear the "explosion" of it catching on fire, but don't see anything).
  • A man briefly pushes Porter backwards before security removes Porter and Griffin from a reception.
  • Eugenie's father shows up a reception with a shotgun, but police quickly tackle him to the floor.



  • Reviewed April 25, 2001 / Posted April 27, 2001

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