BROKEN CITY | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"BROKEN CITY"
(2013) (Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Crime Thriller: A private investigator is hired by the Mayor of New York to investigate his wife's infidelity, and the case leads to revelations of political corruption.

PLOT:

Billy Taggart (MARK WAHLBERG) has worked as a low-level private investigator in New York City ever since he lost his job as a cop in the wake of a high-profile, racially charged shooting that never went to trial. Behind on his bills, Billy accepts an invitation to meet with New York Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (RUSSELL CROWE), who offers him $50,000 to find evidence that his wife, Cathleen (CATHERINE ZETA-JONES), is cheating on him.

Hostetler is in the last leg of a reelection campaign and is vying with a feisty rival named Jack Valliant (BARRY PEPPER), who is hammering him over a real estate deal that got the city out of debt. Hostetler is beholden to a father-and-son development team in the deal by the name of Sam and Todd Lancaster (GRIFFIN DUNNE and JAMES RANSONE, respectively), who are locked in a power struggle of their own. Billy, meanwhile, discovers that Cathleen is indeed having secret meetings with Paul Andrews (KYLE CHANDLER), Valliant's campaign manager. He soon learns that this "affair" is tied in with the crooked property deal in ways that could bring down the city government.

At the same time, Billy is dealing with jealousy issues regarding his actress girlfriend, Natalie (NATALIE MARTINEZ), while he has a love-hate relationship with his no-nonsense assistant, Katy (ALONA TAL). And he frequently clashes with Police Commissioner Carl Fairbanks (JEFFREY WRIGHT), who suspects Billy might hold the key to cleaning up his "broken city" once and for all.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens may have some interest, with Mark Wahlberg in the lead.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For pervasive language, some sexual content, and violence.

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