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"PERSONAL VELOCITY"
(2002) (Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey) (R)

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


QUICK TAKE:
Drama: Three women try to find their way through life in three separate short stories.
PLOT:
Delia (KYRA SEDGWICK) is a woman who once used sex as power over various males, but is now married to Kurt Wurtzle (DAVID WARSHOFSKY) with three kids. When Kurt severely beats her in front of the kids - much like her father, Pete Shunt (BRIAN TARANTINA), did with her mother - she hits the road.

After staying in a shelter, she calls up a former high school classmate, Fay (MARA HOBEL), and asks if she and her kids can stay with her and her husband, Greg (CHRISTOPHER FITZGERALD), for a while. She eventually gets a job waiting tables where she must put up with the leering flirtatiousness of Mylert (LEO FITZPATRICK), the short order cook's son.

Greta (PARKER POSEY) is a cookbook editor for a publishing house where her boss, Mr. Gelb (WALLACE SHAWN), has just informed her that author Thavi Matola (JOEL DE LA FUENTE) wants her to edit his book. She's excited about that and reportedly tells her husband, Lee (TIM GUINEE), that Thavi is gay to allay any potential suspicion.

Coming from a broken family - her father, Avram (RON LEIBMAN), left her mother, Maroushka (KALUSKA POVENTUD) - Greta has a problem with fidelity. Not only does she fool around with Thavi and Max (BEN SHENKMAN), a guy she met in a coffee shop, but she also had an affair with her former boyfriend, Oscar (JOSH PHILIP WEINSTEIN), right before her wedding to Lee.

Paula (FAIRUZA BALK) is a troubled young woman and former runaway. Not only has she recently found out she's pregnant by her live-in boyfriend, Vincent (SETH GILLIAM), but she's also just left the scene of a horrible accident that killed a man she just met. Although she hasn't spoken to her mother, Celia (PATTI D'ARBANVILLE), in years due to her new boyfriend, Peter (DAVID PATRICK KELLY), Paula heads there to see her. Along the way, she picks up a teenage hitchhiker, Kevin (LOU TAYLOR PUCCI), who appears to have been tortured and tries to help him.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're fans of someone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For brief violence, some strong sexuality and language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • KYRA SEDGWICK plays an abused wife who hits the road with her kids after her husband severely beats her. She smokes, uses strong profanity, used sex in the past (and again in the present) as power, and basically tries to make ends meet.
  • DAVID WARSHOFSKY plays her abusive husband who severely beats her and is passed out in one scene.
  • BRIAN TARANTINA plays Delia's father in some flashbacks who reportedly rolled his own joints. He also smokes, uses some profanity and beats a church man.
  • MARA HOBEL plays Delia's former high school classmate who takes her in after Delia leaves her husband.
  • LEO FITZPATRICK plays the son of the short order cook where Delia works who keeps hitting on here.
  • PARKER POSEY plays an editor who cheats on her husband in various ways with several men. She smokes, drinks, masturbates and uses some profanity.
  • TIM GUINEE plays her husband who's busy writing a lengthy dissertation.
  • JOEL DE LA FUENTE plays an author who hits on Greta while working with her. He smokes, drinks, uses some profanity and fools around with her.
  • RON LEIBMAN plays Greta's estranged lawyer father who cheated on his wife.
  • BEN SHENKMAN plays a guy Greta meets in a coffee shop and with whom she had an affair right before her marriage.
  • FAIRUZA BALK plays a former runaway who's found herself pregnant via her live-in boyfriend. After witnessing a horrific accident, she hits the road where she takes pity on Kevin, picks him up and cares for him. She uses some profanity.
  • LOU TAYLOR PUCCI plays a skittish young hitchhiker and runaway who's apparently been severely beaten and/or tortured.
  • SETH GILLIAM plays Paula's boyfriend who doesn't know he's gotten her pregnant and worries about her disappearance.
  • DAVID PATRICK KELLY plays Paula's mother's boyfriend who isn't nice to Paula.
  • PATTI D'ARBANVILLE plays Paul's concerned mother.
  • 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 drama. Profanity consists of at least 4 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Sexually related dialogue is present, as are various scenes of sexual activity (involving intercourse, oral sex, manual stimulation, masturbation, making out and other fooling around, some of which involves movement and related sounds). Brief nudity (a man's bare butt, part of a woman's bare breast) is also present.

    Violence includes a husband severely beating his wife (with bloody results), as well as other domestic abuse and some brief hitting. A car also strikes and kills a person just off camera. The domestic abuse is just part of some tense family material that includes estranged parent/kid relationships. Those abusers and others have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some of those scenes as well as the sight of a boy who's apparently been tortured may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers.

    Several characters smoke and/or drink, with one being drunk, another passed out and another being noted as having rolled his own joints in the past. Various thematic elements (wife beating, fidelity, runaways, etc.) are also present.

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • The narrator comments that Pete Shunt, Delia's father, smoked grass that he rolled himself.
  • Pete drinks beer.
  • We see an empty bottle next to Delia's husband who appears to be passed out.
  • We see a flashback to some teens drinking.
  • Thavi and Greta have wine.
  • People drink at a party, including Greta who's then drunk.
  • People have champagne at wedding.
  • A person has wine.
  • Greta and Lee have wine with dinner.
  • Lee and a friend have beer.
  • People drink at a party.
  • Paula and others drink in a club.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Delia's mouth is bloody after her husband beats her and we later see more bloody cuts on her head.
  • We see various cuts all over Kevin's body, apparently from being tortured by someone else.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Delia's husband severely beats her (and we see her father do the same to her mother in a flashback).
  • Some students are mean to Fay in a flashback.
  • Delia has a short attitude with a social worker trying to help her, and briefly has the same toward Fay.
  • We hear that Delia got a job as a waitress and that if anyone was rude to her, she spit into their food (we don't see her do that and hear she didn't when she had a cold).
  • Mylert keeps hitting on Delia in the restaurant where she works.
  • An old flame hits on Greta while she's drunk and despite knowing she's married. They briefly passionately kiss, but she then stops him.
  • Thavi starts to come on to Greta (rubbing her foot) despite knowing she's married. She then suddenly and passionately kisses him, but then stops. The narrator then states that she had a problem with fidelity and we then see her get involved in an affair the week before her wedding and hear that she kept fooling around after getting married to Lee.
  • We see and hear that Greta's father had an affair.
  • Greta looks through her husband's unfinished dissertation before she's supposed to.
  • Paula's mother's boyfriend isn't nice to her.
  • For those sensitive to such matters, we hear that Paula is not going to keep her baby, but we never see anything more to do with that.
  • Kevin drives off in Paula's car.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be disturbing or suspenseful to some viewers.
  • Delia's husband suddenly grabs her by the hair at the kitchen table and then repeatedly slams her head against the table quite viciously (and in front of their young kids), resulting in bloody cuts on her face. Later locked behind a door, she then hears her kids screaming.
  • We see various cuts all over Kevin's body, apparently from being tortured by someone else.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • None.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Piece of sh*t," "Full of crap," "Get the hell out of my house," "Shut up," "Shove it up your ass," "She's a castrating bitch," "Lying bastard," "Kick my ass" and "Loser."
  • We hear that Delia used sex as power when she was younger and she returns to doing that in the present story (by giving a "hand job" to a young guy who keeps hitting on her).
  • We several men hitting their wives.
  • We hear that Delia got a job as a waitress and that if anyone was rude to her, she spit into their food (we don't see her do that).
  • Greta blows a smoke ring with cigarette smoke.
  • Paula has a tattoo on her arm.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • None.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 4 "f" words (1 used sexually), 9 "s" words, 1 slang term for female genitals ("c*nt"), 8 asses, 2 hells, 1 crap, 1 S.O.B., 3 uses of "Oh my God," 2 of "Oh God" and 1 use each of "God" and "God Almighty" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • The narrator comments on Delia's "ass" that "looked excellent in blue jeans." During this, the camera focuses on her clothed butt. Later, the narrator comments that young Delia was embarrassed to be seen by anyone since she had recently grown breasts that were huge. We then see her hanging falsies (flattened with nipples) up on the clothesline.
  • The camera focuses on young Delia's clothed butt and the narrator states that Shunt rhymed with "c*nt" and that Delia became the school slut. We see her performing oral sex on a young guy in the woods (her head moving at his crotch, but nothing explicit is seen). We also hear that she lost her virginity at 12 and see her making out with a guy. We then see a montage of pleasured facial reactions of guys apparently having sex with her (we also see a car rocking back and forth with a pair of feet planted against the window). The camera focuses on her clothed butt again as well as her fooling around with Kurt in a parked car (where her jeans are riding low). The narrator states that marriage gave a new meaning to sex for her, and that they really made love at the beginning. He then states that violence crept into their lovemaking and that she found it to be exciting at first, but then realized its coldness. We then see them fooling around on a bed.
  • Delia shows cleavage.
  • Mylert keeps hitting on Delia in the restaurant where she works. He tells a friend that Delia "wants me."
  • Delia tells Mylert to pick her up after work. He does in his truck and she then moves over next to him where we hear her unzip his pants. He then looks surprised and we see the rhythmic movement of her arm as she manually stimulates him (we also hear the sound of her doing that). When they're finished, she wipes off her hand on some tissues.
  • Greta shows a lot of thigh in her short skirt.
  • We hear that Greta and a guy in college had a thing but that she'd never sleep with him.
  • An old flame hits on Greta while she's drunk and despite knowing she's married. They briefly passionately kiss, but she then stops him.
  • Thavi starts to come on to Greta (rubbing her foot) despite knowing she's married. She then suddenly and passionately kisses him, but then stops. The narrator then states that she had a problem with fidelity.
  • We see Greta and a man she just met making out (a week before her wedding) and hear that they had an affair for that week (during "the fittings, the f*cking, the bachelorette party"). We then see them rolling around on a bed with her in her black bra.
  • We hear that as the weeks wore on, the groping between Greta and Thavi continued, but she never slept with him. We then see her return home, say hello to her husband and his friend, and then go into the bathroom where she masturbates while standing. We see her lift her dress, put her hand down inside her pantyhose and then see her facial reaction, see her legs moving and hear her pleasured sounds.
  • We see Greta and her husband rolling around on a bed (both are shirtless) and we briefly see part of her bare breast. We then see them snuggling afterwards.
  • We hear that Paula recently found out she was pregnant by her boyfriend.
  • We see Vincent spooning with Paula in bed and he's completely nude (we see the side of his bare butt). We then see the two in another sleeping position and he's on his stomach (we see his entire bare butt).
  • SMOKING
  • Pete, Delia, Thavi and Greta each smoke a few times, while several minor or miscellaneous characters also smoke.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Delia's husband suddenly grabs her by the hair at the kitchen table and then repeatedly slams her head against the table quite viciously (and in front of their young kids), resulting in bloody cuts on her face. Later locked behind a door, she then hears her kids screaming. She then decides to leave and take the kids with her.
  • We see Pete hit his wife in a flashback and then see her leave for good (with young Delia deciding to stay with her dad).
  • We hear that Greta's parents were divorced and that her mom died of cancer. We see a flashback of Greta discovering her father with a business associate and her mother packing her belongings to move out and Greta cries over that. After that, Greta's relationship with her father is strained and we hear that he brushed off his first family (before Greta) "like leaves from a sweater."
  • We hear that Greta decided one day that she was going to leave her husband (after fooling around with another man while married).
  • We hear that Paula hasn't been home for years since her mother got a new boyfriend.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Women using sex as power.
  • Women who are abused by their husbands, stay in such relationships and then finally decide to leave.
  • Fidelity.
  • Abused and runaway kids.
  • Leaving the scene of an accident.
  • VIOLENCE
  • Delia's husband suddenly grabs her by the hair at the kitchen table.
  • Pete punches a man in the face (who told him he was going to hell) in a flashback. We then see him hit his wife in another flashback.
  • We see the above scene again where Delia's husband suddenly grabs her by the hair at the kitchen table and then repeatedly slams her head against the table quite viciously (and in front of their young kids), resulting in bloody cuts on her face. He then throws her through a door and then pushes the kids around.
  • We see flashback still photos of Delia kneeing a guy in the crotch or gut.
  • A person is struck and killed by a runaway car just off camera (thus, we don't the impact), while Paula is knocked down by that.



  • Reviewed November 12, 2002 / Posted December 6, 2002

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