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All the King's Men (2006)

(2006, Rated PG-13, Drama, Starring Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, Sean Penn)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.
  • Is it any good?

    2.0
  • Common Sense says

    Ambitious, slow-moving, trite political drama.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 14 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Politicians, lawmen, and reporters engage in corrupt activities (including graft, blackmail, and exchanges of favors).
  • Violence:

    Characters fight, awkwardly; there's talk of a school fire that kills children (but only the funeral is shown on screen); after a suicide by shooting, there's blood on the wall; two men are shot to death, with blood on the bodies and oozing onto the floor around them.
  • Sex:

    Many images of women in the movie seem based solely on men's fantasies. Dancers on stage reveal cleavage, legs, and bottoms to Willie, who selects each night's sex partner from these semi-private auditions. In repeated flashbacks, Jack watches Anne naked in a river (from the back, in the moonlight) and remembers her undressing for bed, only to be disappointed at his own inaction (all of this is shown from his point of view, and the footage is "romantically" blurry).
  • Language:

    Variation of n-word used by white men; other mild language ("hell").
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Frequent cigarette and cigar smoking; a couple of characters are alcoholics, and they and others drink to the point of drunkenness (including passing out).
 

What Parents Need to Know

About All the King's Men (2006)

Parents need to know that this intense political drama will probably be of little interest to their kids. Women are sexual objects for men. Some women dance onstage wearing scant clothing and striking provocative poses, while another young woman, romanticized in soft light, appears both naked in a river and undressing for sex with her partner. A politician travels with a bodyguard who carries and shoots a pistol. Two bloody shootings, one of which is a suicide. Characters frequently smoke cigars and cigarettes, and a couple of them are alcoholics.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the political process. Candidates are often elected based on promises to voters -- what happens after they're elected, when their efforts to fulfill those promises encounter roadblocks like lack of funding or loss of idealism? Do voters really believe that campaign promises will be kept? Should politicians be more accountable to their constituents? What are the strengths and weaknesses of America's political system?

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 3.0

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