Parents need to know that this movie isn't for kids. A holiday comedy of the Bad Santa type, it shows repeated arguments among friends and family members: one man argues with his wife; a young boy yells at his father; another man shoots his wife (off screen); two best friends eventually bond over their mutual hatred of the woman they have both married, one after the other. Characters lie, cheat, fight, and vomit. They drink to drunkenness (one from a flask while driving), smoke cigarettes, and hang out in strip clubs. Acts of violence involve handguns, shotguns, knives, and cars.

Families can talk about Charlie's limited vision. Though he feels angry, frustrated, and in his way, ambitious, he's unable to imagine his way out of Wichita except by the very means he despises: betrayal and violence. How does Charlie look relatively rational, compared to his mostly crazed associates? How is he positioned between other male characters (who are miserable and not-so-smart) and women (selfish, conniving, and mean-spirited)?