SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: STATESIDE

"STATESIDE"
(2004) (Jonathan Tucker, Rachael Leigh Cook) (R)

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

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

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

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A young marine must overcome his troubled past and prove his love for a movie actress and singer who suffers from schizophrenia.

PLOT:

It's 1980 and Mark Deloach (JONATHAN TUCKER) is a 17-year-old student at Connecticut's St. Mary's High School. One day, he and his buddy Danny Tripodi (DANIEL FRANZESE) decide to play a prank on Danny's brother, Gregory (MICHAEL GODUTI), by interrupting his make-out session with Sue Dubois (AGNES BRUCKNER) and playfully abducting her. Yet, their fun goes horribly awry when the car Mark's driving plows into the one driven by St. Mary's head priest, Father Concoff (ED BEGLEY, JR.), leaving him in a wheelchair.

Upon learning of her daughter's promiscuous ways, Mrs. Dubois (CARRIE FISHER) sends Sue off to a mental hospital and wants to take legal action against Mark and his single father, Mr. Deloach (JOE MANTEGNA). Yet, the later uses his Marine connections to have his boy sent off to boot camp rather than face possible prison time. Before that occurs, however, Mark and his friends visit Sue where Mark meets her roommate, Dori Lawrence (RACHAEL LEIGH COOK), a movie actress and performer suffering from schizophrenia.

Mark has little time to think about that, however, as he soon finds himself at the mercy of tough Marine drill instructor Skeer (VAL KILMER) on Paris Island. Learning of the boy's past indiscretions, Skeer sets out to make Mark's life a living hell, but the latter perseveres and eventually thrives under the strict discipline. Drawn to Dori, he visits her whenever he's on leave and the two soon become an item. Her unstable condition, however, results in relapses as well as others questioning Mark's influence on her. From that point on, he does what he must to prove his love for her.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Unless they're fans of someone in the cast, it doesn't seem likely that many will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language, some sexuality/nudity and underage drinking.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: JONATHAN TUCKER plays a Catholic school student whose involvement in a prank leads to a disastrous car accident and him being sent off to Marine boot camp. He drinks (and drives), smokes, has sex with Dory and grows up along the way.
RACHAEL LEIGH COOK plays an actress and singer who suffers from schizophrenia. She drinks, smokes, uses strong profanity, and has sex with Mark.
AGNES BRUCKNER plays her previously promiscuous roommate at the mental hospital who uses some profanity, smokes and isn't sure of Mark's influence on Dory.
VAL KILMER plays the Marine drill instructor who's ordered to make Mark's life a living hell and uses strong profanity.
JOE MANTEGNA plays Mark's father with emphysema who briefly smokes, uses some strong profanity and pulls strings to get his son sent to boot camp rather than face possible prison time.
DANIEL FRANZESE plays Mark's good friend who drinks with him and is involved in the prank that turns disastrous.
CARRIE FISHER plays Sue's mother who uses some profanity and is upset with the discovery of her daughter's promiscuous behavior.
ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.; RACHAEL LEIGH COOK plays an actress and singer who suffers from schizophrenia. She drinks, smokes, uses strong profanity, and has sex with Mark.
AGNES BRUCKNER plays her previously promiscuous roommate at the mental hospital who uses some profanity, smokes and isn't sure of Mark's influence on Dory.
VAL KILMER plays the Marine drill instructor who's ordered to make Mark's life a living hell and uses strong profanity.
JOE MANTEGNA plays Mark's father with emphysema who briefly smokes, uses some strong profanity and pulls strings to get his son sent to boot camp rather than face possible prison time.
DANIEL FRANZESE plays Mark's good friend who drinks with him and is involved in the prank that turns disastrous.
CARRIE FISHER plays Sue's mother who uses some profanity and is upset with the discovery of her daughter's promiscuous behavior.
ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.; AGNES BRUCKNER plays her previously promiscuous roommate at the mental hospital who uses some profanity, smokes and isn't sure of Mark's influence on Dory.
VAL KILMER plays the Marine drill instructor who's ordered to make Mark's life a living hell and uses strong profanity.
JOE MANTEGNA plays Mark's father with emphysema who briefly smokes, uses some strong profanity and pulls strings to get his son sent to boot camp rather than face possible prison time.
DANIEL FRANZESE plays Mark's good friend who drinks with him and is involved in the prank that turns disastrous.
CARRIE FISHER plays Sue's mother who uses some profanity and is upset with the discovery of her daughter's promiscuous behavior.
ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.; VAL KILMER plays the Marine drill instructor who's ordered to make Mark's life a living hell and uses strong profanity.
JOE MANTEGNA plays Mark's father with emphysema who briefly smokes, uses some strong profanity and pulls strings to get his son sent to boot camp rather than face possible prison time.
DANIEL FRANZESE plays Mark's good friend who drinks with him and is involved in the prank that turns disastrous.
CARRIE FISHER plays Sue's mother who uses some profanity and is upset with the discovery of her daughter's promiscuous behavior.
ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.; JOE MANTEGNA plays Mark's father with emphysema who briefly smokes, uses some strong profanity and pulls strings to get his son sent to boot camp rather than face possible prison time.
DANIEL FRANZESE plays Mark's good friend who drinks with him and is involved in the prank that turns disastrous.
CARRIE FISHER plays Sue's mother who uses some profanity and is upset with the discovery of her daughter's promiscuous behavior.
ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.; DANIEL FRANZESE plays Mark's good friend who drinks with him and is involved in the prank that turns disastrous.
CARRIE FISHER plays Sue's mother who uses some profanity and is upset with the discovery of her daughter's promiscuous behavior.
ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.; CARRIE FISHER plays Sue's mother who uses some profanity and is upset with the discovery of her daughter's promiscuous behavior.
ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.; ED BEGLEY, JR. plays the head priest at the Catholic school who ends up wheelchair-bound following the car accident and is still bitter toward Mark for causing it.

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 drama. Profanity consists of at least 15 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue (some of it explicit) is present, as is the sight of an unmarried couple fooling around (with kissing, caressing and partial undressing, followed by implied sex then and later). Some strippers are briefly seen in small g-strings (mostly bare butts and fully bare breasts).

Violence consists of a bad car accident, characters hitting or striking others, boot camp hazing, and there's an implied gang rape. Some of that has bloody results and might be somewhat unsettling for some viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while they and others smoke and drink a great deal, with the latter including some drunk driving. Other imitative behavior is 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: Dory makes a comment about drugs. Later, Dory talks of a gang bang while drugged.
We see liquor bottles on a table in front of Dory's band mates.
Miscellaneous people drink in an audience.
Mark and Danny have beer and Mark later drinks while driving.
Young recruits sing a Marine chant in unison about being "whiskey fed."
Drill sergeants badger Mark and ask if his mother drinks martinis.
Mark's aunt has wine and he states he could use a drink. His father asks if he's drinking and Mark replies, "One-hundred percent."
Mark and his friend drink while he's on leave.
Mark and his friend drink from small bottles of booze at a dance. When Mark is ready to leave, his friend says that Mark isn't drunk enough to drive and another states that they drink "till we drop."
Mark and Dory have beer.
Mark and others drink in a strip club and he appears a bit intoxicated as he's up on the stage with a stripper.
Miscellaneous people drink in a bar.
People drink in a bar, including Mark who has a lot. Later, we see him and a friend in the car, with Mark drinking and driving. That results in them sideswiping a guardrail.

BLOOD/GORE: While playfully struggling with Sue in the car, Mark accidentally crashes his car into the one carrying Father Concoff. All of them and Danny have resultant bloody faces.
We see young recruits race off the toilets (their pants are down, but nothing is seen) when the drill sergeants suddenly order them out.
Some guys urinate off the side of a bridge (we see them standing there, but don't see anything else related to the action).
Dory throws something that breaks a window. We then see her holding or touching the broken glass with resultant blood on her hands and then her shirt.
We hear that a Marine has a new eye and then see some rough looking stitch wounds on his neck and especially his arm (following unseen combat).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: It's implied that Dory's band mates rape her (we see them all disappearing into a room where she is, but we don't see anything else) and she later comments on a "gang bang."
Sue jokingly calls one of the guys "you big WOP" and comments on the "queer music" they're listening to.
A person uses the term "retard" to talk about someone else.
Rather than have Mark prosecuted over the car crash, a special Marine deal has him sent off to boot camp instead of facing related charges.
Sergeant Skeer uses the term "rag heads" during drills and a later Marine chant has something to do with being buried in Arab oil.
Sergeant Skeer makes Mark take off his gas mask in a room filled with an unknown gas that makes Mark gasp for air (during a training drill).
Mark's friend jokingly calls him a "homo."
Mark sneaks Dory out of a mental hospital.
A person makes the comment, "All chicks are skanks."

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Various military weapons (rifles, machine guns, tanks): Seen, used in training or used to strike others (rifle butts). See "Violence" for details.
We see a promo photo in Mark's locker of Dory holding a gun.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "So f*cked up," "Get the /f*ck out/off my planet," "You gotta be f*cking sh*tting me," "Get the f*ck out of here," "He's a f*cking idiot," "Sh*ts," "I don't give a sh*t," "Taken sh*t for that," "Suck me off," "Are you a G*ddamn virgin?" "It's in your ass," "Freaky mayhem," "Don't blow this," "She's really nutty and slutty," "It sucks," "Bastards," "Losers," "Punk," "Slut," "Move your ass," "Shut up, nut-megger," "Snotball," "Rag head," "Brothers" (black people), "Chick," "You suck," "Homo," "Is that nuts," "Babe," "Sucky," "You dope," "Pissed off" and "All chicks are skanks."
Miscellaneous characters have tattoos.
Mark and Danny have beer and Mark later drinks while driving. He drives while drunk in a later scene as well.
Mrs. Dubois gives Mr. Deloach "the finger" while putting on lip balm.
To make Mark squeeze the trigger of his weapon, Sergeant Skeer takes a hand stapler and smacks a staple into Mark's finger (no blood).
Some guys urinate off the side of a bridge (we see them standing there, but don't see anything else related to the action).
Mark holds onto the outside of a car and rides there as it drives off.
After apparently being promoted or receiving some other similar recognition, other Marines ceremoniously punch Mark quite hard on the shoulder.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): A lyric from "Oliver's Army" states, "One less white nigger."

PROFANITY: At least 15 "f" words (2 used sexually as are the terms "banging," "laid" and "screwing"), 7 "s" words, 5 slang terms for male genitals ("d*ck," "wang" and "chubby wubby"), 1 for breasts ("t*ts"), 8 asses (1 seen written), 1 S.O.B., 4 uses of "G-damn," 2 each of "God" and "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Oh Jesus" and "Swear to God."

SEX/NUDITY: It's implied that Dory's band mates rape her (we see them all disappearing into a room where she is, but we don't see anything else). Later, Dory talks of a gang bang while drugged.
A comment is made about a girl, "She's really nutty and slutty" and a person asks, "Are you banging her?"
Father Concoff talks about a student's paper and says what sounded like "masturbatory crime."
The term "screwing" is used sexually as is the phrase, "Suck me off."
We see the steamed up window of a car's backseat where Sue and Gregory are making out. Mark and Danny interrupt them and playfully abduct Sue, while Gregory comes out of the car in his boxers with his pants around his ankles.
Mrs. Dubois reads aloud passages from Sue's writing that she found. It includes Sue saying, "I love your d*ck and everything it does," that she never thought she could like the taste of "d*ck," that she thinks about "the first time we f*cked" and "I get wet just thinking about you inside me."
A drill sergeant berates a new soldier and mockingly says that he gives the sergeant a "hard on."
We see many young male recruits in their boxers in a barracks.
Drill sergeants chide Mark and ask if he's a virgin. He says he is and they can't believe it.
Some guys urinate off the side of a bridge (we see them standing there, but don't see anything else related to the action). Some comments are made about their "wangs," but a girl with them laughs at that and says they should be called "chubby wubby."
The camera briefly focuses on a young woman's rear in her skirt at a dance.
Mark's friend wonders if he wants to "get laid" with Dory.
In a group session, Sue says that she got a call from Gregory who "misses my blows" (oral sex) and that she now wants to "blow" him.
When asked if she's noticed any increased or decreased sensitivity, Dory says she has and when asked where, she replies with what sounded like her "moon" (possibly referring to her buttocks and/or being sexual in nature).
Mark and Dory share a brief kiss and we then see that he has her back at his father's place. He's in his boxers and a t-shirt on the edge of a bed, while she's in her panties and a halter top. She then tells him to keep both hands moving and to look for "my velour." He caresses her sides and butt as she stands between his legs while he's seated on the edge of the bed. They do more passionate kissing, he pulls her onto the bed and we then see new shots of them apparently having sex (some movement but no nudity). His sister then walks in on them the next morning with both under the sheets.
We see several strippers in just small G-strings (that show most of their bare butts while we also see their bare breasts) in a strip club (including one hanging upside-down from a pole on the stage).
After Mark gets her a gift, Dory asks, "Do you want to f*ck me or anything?"
Mark gives Dory the nickname of "globe" or "globa." She replies that it's so sexual, asks what he was thinking, and then playfully tells him to tell her later.
We see a poster of Dory in a scantly clad outfit.
Dory talks of a gang bang while drugged.
We see a pinup photo of Brigitte Bardot (showing cleavage) in Marks's locker.
We see Mark and Dory in bed (side by side, he's shirtless, she has on some sort of top) chatting with her playfully asking him, "You just want my girl parts, right?" He replies, "Roger."
Mark bathes Dory who's in a bubble bath. We briefly see just the tops of her bare breasts.
A person makes the comment, "All chicks are skanks."

SMOKING: Mark smokes more than 5 times, Danny, Dory and Sue each smoke several times, Mr. Deloach smokes once and a host of minor and miscellaneous characters smoke in many scenes.
Sergeant Skeer says that he used to smoke with the "brothers" since he knew they had Newport cigarettes.
We see a cigarette vending machine in the background of a shot.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: We hear that Mr. Deloach's wife is no longer living.
Mr. Deloach hits Mark many times (for causing the accident).
Mrs. Dubois gets mad at Sue for her promiscuous behavior and writings and then has her institutionalized.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: How goofing off can have bad consequences if one isn't careful.
Drinking and driving.
Dealing with mistakes that you've made in the past.
Schizophrenia.
Rather than have Mark prosecuted over the car crash, a special Marine deal has him sent off to boot camp instead of facing related charges.
We hear that Mr. Deloach has emphysema but see that he nevertheless smokes.
Dory talks of a gang bang while drugged.

VIOLENCE: It's implied that Dory's band mates rape her (we see them all disappearing into a room where she is, but we don't see anything else). Later, Dory talks of a gang bang while drugged.
Dory pushes another person.
While playfully struggling with Sue in the car, Mark accidentally crashes his car into the one carrying Father Concoff. All of them and Danny have resultant bloody faces, while we later see that Father Concoff is in a wheelchair long after the accident.
Mr. Deloach hits Mark many times (for causing the accident).
To make Mark squeeze the trigger of his weapon, Sergeant Skeer takes a hand stapler and smacks a staple into Mark's finger (no blood).
Sergeant Skeer hits Mark in the gut and face with the butt of a rifle, bloodying Mark's face.
Sergeant Skeer makes Mark take off his gas mask in a room filled with an unknown gas that makes Mark gasp for air (during a training drill).
Sergeant Skeer smacks Mark and then grabs him by the throat. Mark then suddenly hits Sergeant Skeer with his rifle butt twice, knocking him to the ground. He raises the rifle to hit him again, but stops and Sergeant Skeer lets him go (apparently pleased that he's finally grown up some).
Mark is yanked off a strip club stage and pulled onto a table. We later see that his leg is broken from that.
After apparently being promoted or receiving some other similar recognition, other Marines ceremoniously punch Mark quite hard on the shoulder.
Dory throws something that breaks a window. We then see her holding or touching the broken glass with resultant blood on her hands and then her shirt.

Reviewed May 10, 2004 / Posted May 21, 2004

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