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Straight Outta Compton

age 17+
(i)

 

Edgy but powerful story of incendiary '80s rap group.
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  • Review Date: August 14, 2015
  • Rated: R
  • Genre: Drama
  • Release Year: 2015
  • Running Time: 147 minutes

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What parents need to know

Positive messages

Standard music biopic messages about the perils of fame and the importance of true friendships.

Positive role models

Decades later, these artists are seen as pioneers -- but they were also viewed as dangerous and irresponsible. Parents will want to discuss both sides of the equation.

Violence

Guns are pulled but very infrequently fired. Several scenes of brutal fighting and beating. Scenes of a riot at a concert. Some bloody wounds. A major character dies. A character smashes up an office with a baseball bat. Battering ram smashes a house and hits a person. Minor characters die. Images of the 1991 Rodney King beating.

Sex

Full-frontal female nudity. Sexual activity. Oral sex. Characters with many partners. References to unprotected sex.

Language

Frequent, extremely strong language includes "f--k," "motherf----r," "s--t," "bitch," "p---y," "ass," "f----t," "d--k," and the "N" word.

Consumerism

Rap artists, etc. mentioned, but not in a product placement sense.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

A main character starts out as a drug dealer. Pot and cocaine shown. Brief drug use. Characters drink heavily and frequently (with no consequences). Brief smoking.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Straight Outta Compton is a biopic about groundbreaking, incendiary rap group N.W.A., whose song "F--k tha Police" caused a huge stir in 1988. On one hand, the group blazed many new trails in music and is still highly acclaimed today, but on the other hand, their behavior doesn't exactly qualify them as positive role models. Expect lots of extremely strong language, with constant use of "f--k," "s--t," the "N" word, and many more. Sexual content includes full-frontal female nudity, some sexual situations/references (oral sex, etc.), and characters with multiple partners. Violent scenes include a riot at a concert, fighting and beating, and general destruction. Some blood is shown, and characters die. Guns are drawn but rarely fired. One major character begins the film as a drug dealer, and cocaine and pot are shown. Characters drink frequently throughout (with no consequences), and drug use and smoking are shown.

What's the story?

In the 1980s, African-American youths in Compton are faced with poverty, police harassment, drugs, and violence. Five friends -- known as Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), MC Ren (Aldis Hodge), and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.) -- decide to try their hand at making rap music. Before long, with the help of manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti), they become N.W.A. and create one of the most incendiary, game-changing albums of all time. Fans love them as much as the police hate them, but squabbles over money quickly drive the group apart. Dre and Cube struggle to launch solo careers, but Eazy's record label is drying up. He hopes to get N.W.A. back together again, but fate has other plans.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

A group as powerful as N.W.A. deserves a powerful movie; this one captures the energy of the moment, but after a while, it becomes apparent that the filmmakers didn't know how or where to stop. Director F. Gary Gray was there during the time portrayed here, making videos for both Ice Cube and Dr. Dre and making his feature directing debut with Cube's Friday (1995). He was clearly the right man for the job, and the footage of the group's early days and first successes is transporting and immensely powerful.

But perhaps Gray was a bit too close? Perhaps there was pressure to give equal weight to all the players, and to respectfully depict Eazy-E's 1995 AIDS-related death? As STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON reaches the mid-1990s, it becomes awkwardly torn between showing enough detail and showing too much; it could have been a fascinating long miniseries or a much stronger, shorter movie. But what's here will thrill music fans, especially those who wish to learn more about the old school.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about Straight Outta Compton's violence. Does it seem believable that violence could creep into the music industry from the streets? Does art reflect life, or vice versa? Do different types of movie violence have different impact on kids?

  • Why were people so scared of N.W.A. back in the 1980s? What did they think would happen? Are people scared of anything similar today?

  • How much sex is shown in the movie? Why do sex and the music business seem to go hand in hand? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

  • Why do you think drinking, smoking, and drugs are so prevalent in the movie? Are they glamorized? How much of a role do substances play in the music industry?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:August 14, 2015
DVD release date:January 19, 2016
Cast:O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell
Director:F. Gary Gray
Studio:Universal Pictures
Genre:Drama
Run time:147 minutes
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:language throughout, strong sexuality/nudity, violence, and drug use

This review of Straight Outta Compton was written by

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

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Teen, 13 years old Written byerogers August 16, 2015
age 13+
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Teen, 14 years old Written byimoviegoteen August 21, 2015
age 18+

Just about 600 bad words!

Lots of language in here! This is not an easy story kind of movie.. I would say 20+ but this website doesn't let me. Nudity and party scenes are in here. This is not one for kids or teens
What other families should know
Great messages
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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Written byAnonymous August 31, 2015
age 14+

Cruisin down the hood in my 6-4

I saw Straight Outta Compton the other day due to my interest in the rise and fall of NWA and I was actually very impressed with the movie. They made it feel very realistic with the good casting as well as the including of every little detail. There is lots of swearing throughout the film as you can imagine, being this isa movie about hip/hop including many uses of F**k, Sh** and countless uses of the racial term Ni**er, but it is only used infrequently by police officers in a racial context. There is drug use as well including sight and use of marijuana, cocaine and some other drugs. Some sexual content in the movie involves a sex scene at a party, implied oral sex and some sexual references as well. There is also some violence including moments as such when characters are beat up or restrained, resulting in nasty injury. The movie also deals with the ongoing theme of racism in the 80s and 90s against black people, including quite a few scenes of police brutality. There are no deaths as such in the movie except for when a character is diagnosed with AIDS/HIV and dies shortly after, which may be distressing for those who suffer from HIV or know someone who does. The only reason I would say it is somewhat suitable for 14 year olds is because most of them I know anyway would be able to cope with the themes in this film, but some of them wouldn't. It depends on the person really. The good thing about Straight Outta Compton is that there are scenes where you laugh, cry and youjust wanna sing along to the profane but somewhat inspirational lyrics of NWA, and that's what really makes this movie a real smash. So overall, it is an excellent movie and for those wondering of the story of the rise and eventual fall of NWA, this is definitely a must watch. [Oh by the way, if you have seen the movie or listened to any Eazy-E music, you will probably understand why the title of my review is "Crusin down the hood in my 6-4"]
What other families should know
Too much swearing
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