Some Kind of Beautiful Movie Poster Image

Some Kind of Beautiful

(i)

 

Painfully clichéd romcom is full of sex and profanity.
  • Review Date: August 21, 2015
  • Rated: R
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Release Year: 2015
  • Running Time: 99 minutes

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Family members and romantic partners should be honest with one another. Follow your dreams.

Positive role models

Although the characters aren't the greatest role models, Richard wants to be someone Jake can admire and look up to.

Violence

A character gets hit in the face by a baseball.

Sex

Several scenes of couples having sex; bare backs and butts are shown. Adults have affairs, and a professor gets his student pregnant. One character imitates orgasm noises while walking through an elementary school.

Language

Several uses of "f--k," "s--t," bitch," "goddamn," "a--hole," and "idiot," plus British slang like "bloody," "bollocks," and "bugger off"

Consumerism

Apple products, car brands like Hummer and Mustang.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Adults drink and smoke both cigarettes and marijuana in social settings. One character gets a DUI and is sent to AA meetings.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Some Kind of Beautiful is a romantic comedy staring Pierce Brosnan, Jessica Alba, and Salma Hayek in a complicated love triangle. While there isn't much violence or consumerism to worry about, you can expect plenty of sex and profanity. Several couples are shown having sex -- their bare backs and butts are visible -- and having affairs, and one character imitates orgasm noises while walking through an elementary school. Salty language includes several uses of "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," and more. Adults drink and smoke (both cigarettes and pot) in social settings, and one character does receive a DUI and is sent to AA meetings. Although none of the characters are particularly admirable, the movie does offer messages about prioritizing honesty in relationships and following your dreams.

What's the story?

Following in his promiscuous father's (Malcolm McDowell) footsteps, Richard Haig (Pierce Brosnan) is a charismatic poetry professor at Cambridge who's known for sleeping with his students. But Richard is forced to reevaluate his playboy lifestyle when his young American girlfriend, Kate (Jessica Alba), tells him she's pregnant. Although Richard is thrilled to embrace fatherhood and aspires to be a better role model than his own dad, things get complicated when Kate falls in love with a younger man, and Richard acts on his growing attraction to Kate's beautiful older sister, Olivia (Salma Hayek). while he tries to figure out how to avoid deportation. 

Is it any good?

QUALITY

There's nothing beautiful about this painfully predictable romantic comedy, except for the picturesque shots of Cambridge and Los Angeles. Not only is the lack of chemistry between Brosnan (once again playing a suave womanizer) Hayek excruciating to watch, but it's unfortunate that her most memorable scene is when Olivia imitates orgasms while walking through an elementary school. There are some tender moments between fathers and sons here, but the rushed, formulaic plot makes the positive messages come across as clichéd. While this certainly isn't SOME KIND OF BEAUTIFUL movie, it certainly is some kind of awful mess.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about how Some Kind of Beautiful compares to other romantic comedies. What do most Hollywood romcoms tend to have in common? How is this one different (if it is)?

  • How does the movie depict sex? What about drinking and smoking? What role do they play in the story and in the characters' lives? Are there realistic consequences?

  • What makes a relationship work or fail? How does the movie handle this topic? 

Movie details

Theatrical release date:August 21, 2015
DVD release date:December 1, 2015
Cast:Pierce Brosnan, Jessica Alba, Salma Hayek
Director:Tom Vaughan
Studio:Lionsgate
Genre:Comedy
Run time:99 minutes
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:language, sexual content, some nudity and drug use

This review of Some Kind of Beautiful was written by

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Quality

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Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging; great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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