SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: ONE HOUR PHOTO

"ONE HOUR PHOTO"
(2002) (Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Minor	Moderate	Extreme	Heavy	Moderate

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Extreme	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Minor	Heavy	Moderate	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Suspense/Thriller: A one-hour photo clerk becomes ever more obsessed with a family whose pictures he develops and fancies as his own.

PLOT:

Nina Yorkin (CONNIE NIELSEN) enjoys taking family photos of her husband Will (MICHAEL VARTAN) and nine-year-old son Jake (DYLAN SMITH). For years, she's had them developed at the local Savmart where she's gotten to know Seymour "Sy the Photo Guy" Parrish (ROBIN WILLIAMS) as the friendly photo finishing man behind the counter.

Of course, she really doesn't know Sy or the dedication he puts into making her photos look just right. Then again, she also doesn't realize how much this lonely man has taken a liking to her family through the photos he's developed year in and year out since Jake was just an infant. In fact, he views theirs as a picture perfect family and often fantasizes about being part of it.

With increased contact with the family in the store, Sy starts to take things a bit too far, and his behavior eventually begins to concern store manger Bill Owens (GARY COLE). When that eventually leads to some serious repercussions and Sy then discovers that the Yorkins aren't as perfect as he imagined, things begin to spiral out of control, eventually resulting in the involvement of local police detective James Van Der Zee (ERIQ LA SALLE).

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or suspense/thrillers, it's probably not very likely.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For sexual content and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: ROBIN WILLIAMS plays a one-hour photo clerk who's completely obsessed with one family whose photos he's developed over the years. As he becomes more deranged and events eventually push him over the edge, he becomes more desperate and dangerous (and he eventually threatens some people with a knife). He also uses strong profanity.
CONNIE NIELSEN plays a wife and mother who discovers that her husband is cheating on her. She uses some brief, strong profanity.
MICHAEL VARTAN plays her husband who's cheating on her and uses strong profanity.
DYLAN SMITH plays their son who doesn't like seeing them fighting and feels bad for Sy since he thinks he's lonely and sad.
GARY COLE plays Sy's boss who becomes suspicious of Sy's behavior and eventually fires him. He uses some strong profanity.
ERIQ LA SALLE plays a detective who starts tracking down Sy once some veiled threats are made.
ERIN DANIELS plays a woman who's having an affair with Will.; CONNIE NIELSEN plays a wife and mother who discovers that her husband is cheating on her. She uses some brief, strong profanity.
MICHAEL VARTAN plays her husband who's cheating on her and uses strong profanity.
DYLAN SMITH plays their son who doesn't like seeing them fighting and feels bad for Sy since he thinks he's lonely and sad.
GARY COLE plays Sy's boss who becomes suspicious of Sy's behavior and eventually fires him. He uses some strong profanity.
ERIQ LA SALLE plays a detective who starts tracking down Sy once some veiled threats are made.
ERIN DANIELS plays a woman who's having an affair with Will.; MICHAEL VARTAN plays her husband who's cheating on her and uses strong profanity.
DYLAN SMITH plays their son who doesn't like seeing them fighting and feels bad for Sy since he thinks he's lonely and sad.
GARY COLE plays Sy's boss who becomes suspicious of Sy's behavior and eventually fires him. He uses some strong profanity.
ERIQ LA SALLE plays a detective who starts tracking down Sy once some veiled threats are made.
ERIN DANIELS plays a woman who's having an affair with Will.; DYLAN SMITH plays their son who doesn't like seeing them fighting and feels bad for Sy since he thinks he's lonely and sad.
GARY COLE plays Sy's boss who becomes suspicious of Sy's behavior and eventually fires him. He uses some strong profanity.
ERIQ LA SALLE plays a detective who starts tracking down Sy once some veiled threats are made.
ERIN DANIELS plays a woman who's having an affair with Will.; GARY COLE plays Sy's boss who becomes suspicious of Sy's behavior and eventually fires him. He uses some strong profanity.
ERIQ LA SALLE plays a detective who starts tracking down Sy once some veiled threats are made.
ERIN DANIELS plays a woman who's having an affair with Will.; ERIQ LA SALLE plays a detective who starts tracking down Sy once some veiled threats are made.
ERIN DANIELS plays a woman who's having an affair with Will.; ERIN DANIELS plays a woman who's having an affair with Will.

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:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated suspense thriller. Profanity consists of at least 12 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Some brief, sexually explicit dialogue is present, as is some brief male and female frontal nudity as well as still photos of female nudity (breasts and butt). A man also forces a woman to put another man's penis in her mouth for a photo (we don't see the actual shot, but do see her head at his crotch).

Various characters have bad attitudes including a husband who's having an affair (resulting in tense family scenes) and a mentally deranged man who's become ever more obsessed with a family and essentially stalks them. Some of the scenes related to that - including one where he threatens some people with a large hunting knife -- may be unsettling or suspenseful to viewers, particularly when we're not sure how far the man will go.

Beyond that, a nightmare has bloody results and some brief drinking occurs. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Sy has a beer in a daydream.
We see some wine in glasses on the dinner table in Nina and Will's house.

BLOOD/GORE: Sy has a daydream where we see him sitting on a toilet with his pants around his ankles (his shirt covers his crotch), but we don't see any nudity or see or hear any bodily functions.
Sy has a nightmare where we see him standing in a store and all of a sudden his eyes are full of blood and a trickle of that runs down his face. Then, lots of blood spurts out from around his fingers covering his face (and he then wakes up).
A woman has a slightly bloody cut on her forehead.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Sy obviously has a bad attitude for obsessing on Nina's family and life, as well as later actions he takes to reprimand what he sees as wrongdoings (including stealing a hunting knife and then using it to threaten others).
We learn that Will is having an affair behind Nina's back.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: A suspenseful aura slowly builds during the film as we see that Sy has kept copies of photos of Nina's family that he developed. He then lies that he's Jake's uncle and we then see that he has an entire wall inside his house covered with photos of them, as well as framed ones of them on his dresser, etc.
We then see him go into Nina's house when no one is home and make himself at home after looking around. We then see that the family is returning home and he panics about what to do (this all turns out to be a daydream).
Sy then continues with his "stalking" by appearing at Jake's soccer practice and then following Nina into a food court where he acts like he accidentally runs into her. Later, we see that Sy has taken many surveillance style photos of a man's daughter as something of a veiled threat.
Sy has a nightmare where we see him standing in a store and all of a sudden his eyes are full of blood and a trickle of that runs down his face. Then, lots of blood spurts out from around his fingers covering his face (and he then wakes up).
After realizing that Sy has gone off the deep end, various cops show up at his place and slowly enter, not sure of what they're going to find.
As cops race to find and stop him, we see Sy going about his systematic approach at delivering some unknown form of retribution toward some people (and he gets closer and closer to them).
Sy violently opens a door that slams into a woman's face/head, knocking her backwards. He then pulls out a large hunting knife and makes threatening gestures to her and a man in the room with her.
Moment later, detectives show up at that room and slowly enter with their guns drawn, unsure of what they might find.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Hunting Knife: Stolen by Sy and later used to threaten two people.
Handguns: Worn/carried by security guards and cops, and used by cops to point at a person they arrest.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "You're f*cking kidding me," "Are you f*cking threatening me?" "F*cking asshole," "F*ck(ed) up," "F*cker," "Nobody gives a sh*t," "Sure as sh*t," "I don't give a sh*t," "Idiot," "Breaking my balls," "What the hell /are you doing/you been doing in here/is wrong with these people?" "Get the hell out of here" and "Shut up."
We see footage of kids making faces at a camera that's taking their picture as well as Will playfully pushing some cake into Jake's face.
A minor character has several piercings in the top of his earlobe.
We see that Sy has taken a succession of many surveillance style photos of a man's daughter as something of a veiled threat.
Will has a large tattoo on his arm.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 12 "f" words (1 used sexually), 3 "s" words, 1 slang term for male genitals ("thing"), 4 hells, 1 ass (used with "hole"), 3 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use of "G-damn" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Nina wears a blouse that's open quite far down the front, but we don't see anything explicit.
During a montage that shows the people who use the 1-hour photo lab, Sy mentions the amateur porn artists and we then see various still photos of a bare-breasted woman that also show her bare butt and her sucking her own finger.
Sy has a daydream where we see him sitting on a toilet with his pants around his ankles (his shirt covers his crotch), but we don't see any nudity or see or hear any bodily functions.
Sy discovers photos of Will kissing another woman's face and side of neck as well as on the mouth.
Bill asks if it's the work of the "anal sex fiend" again when a worker informs him that he must show Bill some pictures he's developed (it's not).
Nina states that she knows Will is "f*cking Maya Burson" (a co-worker).
Sy bursts into a room where we briefly see Will's full frontal nudity as well as some partial frontal nudity of the woman with him (she's wearing a robe that's open in the front and they were apparently having sex). Sy then makes the man remove the towel he's just put around his waist (we see him then holding it at his crotch) and then makes the couple pose on the bed for photos. During this, the couple is scared of him and his large hunting knife, but goes through with what he tells them to do. We see several views of her bare breasts and Sy then tells the woman to put his "thing" (the man's penis) in her mouth, and she does, but we see the scene from the reverse angle and thus don't see that contact (although we see her head down at his crotch as well as part of her bare butt).
A cop finds a woman sitting nude in a bathtub with her arms around her knees (no explicit nudity).

SMOKING: A miscellaneous person smokes.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Jakes hears his mom and dad having a fight about money issues and her accusing Will of being an emotionally neglectful husband and father.
Nina discovers that her husband is having an affair.
Sy somewhat implies that he was abused as a child.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The mentally ill and specifically those who fixate and obsess on other people.
Affairs.
Family strife over money and other matters (including affairs).

VIOLENCE: We see some videogame violence (human characters hitting each other) on TV.
Sy violently opens a door that slams into a woman's face/head, knocking her backwards. He then pulls out a large hunting knife and makes threatening gestures to her and a man in the room with her.
Various cops aim their guns at a man while arresting him.

Reviewed August 2, 2002 / Posted August 30, 2002

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