American Gangster - R

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Violent, drug-fueled drama isn't for kids.

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Rating: R for violence, pervasive drug conviolence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality. Studio: Universal Pictures Directed By: Ridley Scott Cast: Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Chiwetel Ejiofor Running Time: 157 minutes Release Date: 11/01/2007 Genre: Drama

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this based-on-a-true story drama about a brutal 1970s gangster isn't for kids. He commits extremely violent acts, which are depicted explicitly (often with guns) and accompanied by blood, wounds, and groaning. And since the plot focuses on heroin smuggling and dealing, there are many shots of junkies and drug use (including needles in arms, cocaine being snorted, and more). Sexual content includes scenes with prostitutes, kissing, bare breasts, and cleavage, and there's plenty of language, including almost 100 uses of "f--k."

Families can talk about whether the movie glamorizes criminal behavior. How is Frank both villainous and attractive? How does the film compare and contrast him to Richie, who's upright on the job but not a good husband? Families can also discuss the fact that the movie is based on a true story. How accurate do you think it is? Why do filmmakers sometimes tweak the facts when they're making biopics or movies based on actual events?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs

It's the mid-'70s, and NYC heroin kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) has brought his brothers up from North Carolina to share in his success. Seated in a sunny Harlem diner, he notices a rival standing on a nearby corner and rushes out the door to confront the troublemaker. As his brothers look on, astonished, Frank shoots his foe in the head, then returns calmly to the table, picking up his conversation where he left off. Loyalty is important, he says. His brothers agree.

The scene, both lurid and funny, showcases the problem at the center of AMERICAN GANGSTER. As much as the movie (which is based on a true story) loves Frank's intelligence and charisma, it must also condemn his brutality and criminality. The movie's solution is typical: It pits Frank against worse villains (the man he shoots on the street is a bully) and puts him on a parallel track with a familiar hero, upright-to-a-fault detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe).

Frank and Richie's relationship is complicated throughout Ridley Scott's film; they're opposite but also linked. Both their self-images are grand: Frank rules NYC's drug underworld, and Richie turns in $1 million worth of drug money rather than keep it for himself. But while Frank surrounds himself with devoted family members (including Lymari Nadal as his glamorous wife, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Common as brothers, and T.I. as a nephew), Richie is alone, rejected by his wife (Carla Gugino) and his fellow cops, who call him out as a "boy scout."

Ambitious and politically astute, Frank sees his success as a representation of black progress: He owns his own business, whereas his mentor, Bumpy (Clarence Williams III), worked for the white man. Frank's elaborate schemes include traveling to war-torn Southeast Asia to secure a direct product source (and then ship it stateside in the coffins of U.S. troops), using bare-breasted ladies to package the heroin, and handing out turkeys for the holidays (so he can "give back" to the very community he's turning into addicts).

Richie's path is less sensational, more movie-style earnest. He and his hardworking undercover crew (including RZA and Ruben Santiago-Hudson) discover Frank's business precisely because Richie isn't as racist as his superiors, who don't believe that a black man could outscore the Italian mafia at their own game. And just like the white crooks before him, it's Frank's own hubris that brings him to Richie's attention, when he wears a chinchilla coat to an Ali fight. Though Frank understands the costs of excess ("The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room," he asserts), he succumbs in this instance to his wife's gaudy taste.

Though Frank is never as ostentatious as his pimp-acting associate Nicky Barnes (Cuba Gooding Jr.), he does stand in contrast to Richie. Where the decadent criminal dines on a magnificent turkey dinner, the stalwart cop slaps together a tuna-and-potato-chips sandwich.

Still, as the film scrambles to its end (the last half hour moves very quickly), the two develop a mutual respect. In part, this is a function of Richie's liberal bent. He'll not only arrest a black man, he'll also work with him ... to build cases against a lot of other bad guys. And so they share a sort of moral code after all, premised on their recognition of racial equality. As corny as this relationship may be, it returns again to the movie's central problem: It loves Frank and has to hate him.

Fans should check out the fascinating, same-named BET documentary series and Marc Levin's new sharp documentary about Nicky Barnes, Mr. Untouchable. Fictional versions of similar stories include New Jack City, The French Connection, and King of New York.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Prostitutes stroll New York streets. Dancers in a Bangkok bar show cleavage and sexy behavior. Women's naked breasts are visible as they work to process drugs. Brief, rowdy sex scene in a kitchen; a couple of scenes show kissing (Richie with a stewardess). Men appear in bars and clubs with multiple girlfriends and sex workers who show cleavage in tight outfits. Frank and Eva kiss passionately, though the act is mostly covered up by her long hair. Frank is massaged by a woman naked from the waist up.
Violence Several scenes show shooting, fighting, and tense stand-offs between men wielding large guns. An early scene shows the funeral of gangster's mentor, followed by vows of aggression against rivals. Clips of the Vietnam War appear on background TVs. Cops raid drug locations, with guns drawn and used. A man is thrown down the stairs, with bloody results. Following a shooting, there's blood on the floor and walls. Frank coldly shoots a man on the street (hole in head visible). Flashback shows Frank shooting someone while saying he's a "gentleman." Frank beats a man at a party in his home, then blows up over the blood on his white carpet. Skeet shooting; brief shots of a boxing match.
Language Much profanity, including nearly 100 uses of "f--k" (some with "mother"), as well as plenty of uses of "s--t," "ass," "damn," and "hell." Also several uses of the "N" word -- sometimes between friends, other times used in a derogatory way.
Message
	Social Behavior Gangsters are cruel, cocky, and greedy; cops are earnest and honest to a fault. Their run-ins result in violence and, eventually, collaboration.
	Commercialism Coca-Cola, Ford Mustang.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Pervasive drugs (opium, heroin, pills, marijuana, cocaine) and drinking. Nixon appears on TV, denouncing "drug abuse." Drinking in bars (some in Southeast Asia, where the atmosphere is decidedly seedy), at parties, on the streets, and in hotel rooms. Frequent cigarette and cigar smoking (reflecting the 1970s setting). Images of heroin transportation (by sacks and bricks), production, and use; needles shown on tables and in arms (a bloody needle in one shot); cocaine and heroin snorting.