Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this film adaptation of an Elmore Leonard book is racy and full of violence. Almost every character in the film pulls a gun or is shot at least once in the film. People steal cars, shoot people, do drugs, and even undermine criminal investigations. Add to that some really salty language and some sultry stripping (down to underwear) by Clooney and Lopez, and you have a fairly adult feature.
Families can talk about why films like this are such fun. Does the violence make it fun, or are there other parts that are appealing? If they took the violence out, would the film still work? What about the role of music and editing in this film -- how do you think this manipulates the tone? How does this movie compare to the Ocean's 11 series by the same director? Why is this movie better for older viewers than the Ocean's movies?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Heather Boerner
OUT OF SIGHT is one of those great Hollywood films: Put together two gorgeous people in a stylized set with a fun script and watch them charm the pants off each other. It doesn't even matter that Out of Sight has no redeeming social value. It's just so fun to see Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney circle each other for two hours that the violence and plot almost seem secondary.
Clooney plays Jack Foley, a bank robber with more than 100 heists to his name. In escaping from Glades prison in Florida, he literally runs into Lopez's Karen Sisco, a federal marshal with some great fashion sense and even more sex appeal. When the two get locked in a trunk together as Jack makes his escape, the rest of the plot seems inevitable: As Jack goes about evading the police and trying to make one final big score -- and Karen tries to deal with her married boyfriend and her job -- the two are drawn inexorably closer to each other. They're fated, Jack tells Karen.
Sure, it's the same old forbidden love story viewers have seen a million times, with a few details changed. But it doesn't matter. Clooney's legendary charm and Lopez's unreal beauty -- along with their spot-on acting -- are irresistible to the viewers as much as to each other. The two are perfectly cast. Supporting characters are just as fun, played by fabulous actors like Don Cheadle, Isaiah Washington, Steve Zahn, and Ving Rhames. With director Steven Soderbergh's snappy directing, great editing, and perfectly upbeat music, it's not surprising that this film was nominated for two Academy Awards.
The only shame in the whole film is that such great actors as Cheadle and Washington are resigned to playing the cliché characters of street thugs. They deserved some meatier roles.
People who enjoy this film may like the Ocean's 11 franchise, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and The Italian Job.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentKaren fantasizes about making out with Jack in a bath tub. There's talk about making love. Jack and Karen strip off their clothes down to their underwear, but you don't see anything else, and it's implied that they had sex. Karen wears only a robe and the two are seen in bed together. |
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ViolenceConsiderable violence and gunplay. At the end of the film, nearly all the characters die, either because someone else shoots them or because they shoot themselves. There's some blood and a dead man is seen bleeding from the head. Kenneth threatens to rape Karen and later attempts to rape another woman. Maurice stabs a man to death in prison. Karen hits Kenneth in the head and the stomach with a baton. Karen gets a bruise on her head from a car crash. Maurice punches Jack. |
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LanguageLots of swearing, including "f--k," "ass," "s--t," "hell," "p--sy," "bitch," the "N" word, "goddamn," "assh--e," and "son of a bitch." |
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Social BehaviorKaren dates a married man. Jack and all his friends are criminals; they steal, assault, and kill people. Karen assists Jack in escaping from prison. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoAdele smokes, Glenn talks about being high. Karen and Jack share a bourbon. |
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