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THE DILEMMA

"Honesty Builds Real Relationships"

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What You Need To Know:

THE DILEMMA stars Vince Vaughn as Ronny. Ronny and Nick (played by Kevin James) are longtime best friends hoping to sell a new engine prototype to Chrysler. If that wasn’t enough of a strain on their friendship, Ronny discovers that Nick’s wife Geneva is cheating on him with a younger man. As Ronny tries to figure out how to tell Nick about the affair, complications abound. Among those are upsetting blackmail threats from Geneva. Can Ronny solve his dilemma with true honesty, or will things get out of control?

THE DILEMMA is a funny, unpredictable comedy with some serious issues on its mind. The movie boasts performances that are far stronger than usual for this genre, as well as complex writing that presents ethical dilemmas in a thought-provoking yet ultimately moral fashion. Best of all, as Ronny struggles with his dilemma, he stops at one point and asks God for enlightenment. He eventually gets that help, though in a roundabout fashion. All in all, THE DILEMMA may be a worthwhile movie for some adults, but extreme caution is advised because of lewd content, much foul language and intense comic violence.

Content:

(CC, BB, CapCapCap, Ro, LLL, VV, S, N, AA, MM) Strong Christian worldview with strong moral elements stressing the importance of honesty and forgiveness, including lead protagonist prays for help from God, and very strong pro-capitalist elements that also make fun of “sissy” electric cars, mixed with light Romantic elements and comic references to being “gay” but in a way showing how silly homosexuality really is; about 44 obscenities (including one “f” word), five strong profanities, nine light exclamatory profanities, plus photo of side character giving “the finger” is shown twice and a supporting character (Queen Latifah) tells off-color and double-entendre lewd jokes in rapid fashion; some intense comic violence includes two men throw each other against walls and through a glass doorway, man cuts hole in a wooden door while trying to break through and hurt the other man, man uses a blowtorch to threaten his, man swings electric guitar wildly to fend the opponent off, man smashes man’s car with baseball bat and punches him with it but not very strongly so as to kill him, angry friend punches and kicks friend; light but solid sexual content includes man’s wife is shown engaged in lustful kissing with an illicit lover and then is seen obviously getting stripped and about to fornicate with him (but nothing explicit is shown), couple about to possibly get engaged are living together but nothing is really shown, mention of a long-ago indiscretion, and side character makes lewd double entendre jokes; rear male nudity and implied nudity; alcohol use and drunkenness; no smoking or drugs; and, honest overcomes deception, unfaithfulness, spying on friend’s cheating wife, angry arguments, side character has tattoos, emotional blackmail, and references to past gambling addiction.

More Detail:

THE DILEMMA is a comedy that is refreshing in its ability to handle complex adult relationships and moral tests in an ultimately positive fashion. There’s too much foul language and other offensive elements along the way, however.

The movie stars Vince Vaughn as Ronny. Ronny and Nick (played by Kevin James) are longtime best friends hoping to sell a new engine prototype to Chrysler. If that wasn’t enough of a strain on their friendship, Ronny discovers that Nick’s wife Geneva (played by Winona Ryder) is cheating on him with a younger man (Channing Tatum).

As he tries to figure out how to tell Nick about the affair, complications abound. Among those are Geneva’s threat to tell Nick about the fact she and Ronny had a one-night stand 20 years ago before she met Nick. She also promises to lie that Ronny has never stopped propositioning her. In making these threats, she tells Ronny that he doesn’t understand how Nick has withdrawn from her, to the point of going to get “massages” from a place down the road.

Ronny starts to spy on Nick and Geneva to figure out who is doing what to whom and find a way to inform them in the least harmful way. [SPOILER ALERTS] Instead, everyone starts to think that Ronny’s suddenly strange behavior is a sign he’s stumbled back into an old gambling addiction.

Can Ronny find a way to deal honestly with his dilemma, and with his best buddy? Not to mention his beautiful girlfriend, Beth, who’s wondering if Ronny wants to take the next step toward marriage? Ronny wants to ask Beth to marry him, but the issue with Nick’s wife distracts him.

THE DILEMMA is a funny – yet, perhaps more importantly, unpredictable – movie that marks a welcome return by director Ron Howard to the type of comedies he directed in the 1980s and 90s before getting sidetracked by more serious fare like APOLLO 13 and DA VINCI CODE movies. The movie boasts performances that are far stronger than usual for this genre, as well as complex writing that presents ethical dilemmas in a thought-provoking yet ultimately moral fashion.

Best of all, as Ronny struggles with his dilemma, he stops at one point and asks God for enlightenment. He eventually gets that help, though in a roundabout fashion.

All in all, THE DILEMMA may be a worthwhile movie for some adults, but extreme caution is advised because of lewd content, much foul language and intense comic violence. This is a movie with serious issues on its mind, despite the crazy comedy, which also turns serious.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.