Content Advisory
SYNOPSIS: This play by West Wing’s writer Aaron Sorkin was the basis for the hit movie of the same name. Two Marines stationed on the Unites States Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are charged with the murder of a fellow Marine—but are they guilty, or were they simply following orders to administer a disciplinary action that went disastrously awry? A Few Good Men raises ethical questions that are even more relevant today than when it was written 15 years ago—to what extent should we, as a country and as individuals, go to ensure our safety and freedom?—and features one of the most riveting and memorable courtroom confrontations in all of theatre.
LANGUAGE: The characters in A Few Good Men are all Marines, and they swear like soldiers, fairly often and without even thinking about it. There is enough strong language in the play to earn the movie adaptation an “R” rating.
The language includes “damn” and “Goddamn” (several times) “Jesus,” “Christ” and “for Christ’s sake” (a number of times), “fuck,” fucked” and “fucking” (a number of times), “shit” and “bullshit” (a number of times), “piss” and “pissy,” “ass” and “asshole,” “son-of-a-bitch,” “screwed up,” crap” and “crapola,” and “blow job.”
SMOKING AND DRINKING: None.
SEX: None.
VIOLENCE: Very little. In a brief flashback, two Marines are shown administering a “Code Red” disciplinary action to a third Marine—the action that resulted in that Marine’s death.
FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: A Few Good Men is suitable for general audiences, although its strong language will be discomfiting to some adult audiences and inappropriate for pre-teens.
RATING: The movie adaptation of A Few Good Men, which is very faithful to the stage play, was rated “R” for strong language.