| nudity |
A double-entendre "beaver" gag.
A woman hands out xeroxes of her rear end at a Christmas party, and the resulting xeroxes are seen in close-up. No nudity because she is wearing underwear.
A book on Kama Sutra sex positions is given for a Christmas gift, the interior of which is briefly seen.
The "Solid Gold Dancers" have very revealing costumes with much of their breasts and buttocks are exposed. Their dance moves are suggestive.
A censor discusses whether or not a dancer's nipples can be seen in her costume. The dancer's areolas are briefly seen.
The Ghost of Christmas Past tells Frank that she "likes the rough stuff" after he threatens her physically.
There are several mentions of seeing a woman's nipples. |
| violence |
The movie has a surprising number of guns throughout and slapstick humor with varying degrees of violence that, though played for laughs, can be disturbing for today's audiences especially children.
Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves brandish automatic weapons to fight off terrorists.
Frank Cross' "Scrooge" promo has disturbing imagery portraying a woman screaming while getting rained on by acid rain, a junkie shooting up heroin, a plane exploding in mid-air, a "freeway killer" shooting a driver with a shotgun and ends with a nuclear blast. Executives seeing the promo for the first time leave the boardroom visibly disturbed. Later in the movie, it is revealed that an old woman died from looking at the promo and Frank Cross reacts with excitement at this.
Lew Hayward (the movie's Marley character) is a pretty realistic looking - rotting corpse. A live mouse emerges from his skull. Frank Cross shoots him with a pistol to no effect.
Frank hallucinates and sees a human eyeball in his drink and a waiter catch on fire.
There is a somewhat misogynistic running gag of the female production censor being violently injured over and over again with props from the Scrooge set. Frank Cross roughly turns her neck after being injured for the first time.
There is a reference to alley cats being chopped up and used in Chinese food.
Frank suggests that a prop man affix antlers to a live mouse with staples.
The sadistic Ghost of Christmas Present uses a lot of slapstick violence on Bill Murray's character who gets kicked in the groin, slapped, punched in the face, pulled by the tie, pushed, and head-butted. She also upper-cuts him with a toaster oven.
Dialogue reveals that a little boy does not speak because he saw his father killed in the past.
The frozen corpse of one character is seen in close up for a prolonged scene.
A disgruntled employee uses a shotgun to try to kill his boss - blasting holes throughout an office setting. Later the same character uses the shotgun to threaten innocent people to keep a program on the air.
Frank Cross is seen being burned alive in a coffin in the "Ghost of Christmas Future" sequence.
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| profanity |
-A few uses of Shit
-A few uses of Bitch
- 4 uses of Goddamn
- A few uses of Damn
- A few uses of Hell
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| alcohol |
Many of the characters drink (or try to drink).
Frank's promo briefly depicts drug use.
Bill Murray is seen drinking a lot and gets quite drunk.
There is a Christmas party scene where most of the revelers are drunk.
A laid off executive is mostly drunk when he appears on-screen.
Reference to drugs and Karen Allen is holding a joint in one scene.
The ghost of Christmas Past always has a cigar and drinks while driving. |
| frightening |
Though based on the classic Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", the movie never lets up from a cynical tone with crude humor. Viewers might be misled that the film is family-friendly because of the source material but it contains many adult themes.
The misanthropic Frank Cross is a problematic Scrooge because he displays indifference to other characters through most of the movie, even causing a homeless man to freeze to death near the end of the film. In the story's resolution, he behaves more like a ranting person having a nervous breakdown than the traditional redeemed Scrooge character.
Frank's "Scrooge" promo seen early in the film features surprising scenes of violence inclduing a reference to terrorism with a plane shown exploding on takeoff.
The violence between the Ghost of Christmas Present and Frank is played for humor, but it can be disturbing.
The scenes of violence and sexuality (as in the dancer's costumes) can be unexpected for viewers expecting a more traditional Christmas story.
The scene with the Ghost of Christmas Future can be quite frightening.
Suggested MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language, thematic material, violent images, brief nudity, and some drug use. |
