Story
Rachel Wilcox (Lindsay Lohan) is a disturbed, confused and sexually precocious teenager. Her mother Lilly (Felicity Huffman) is unable to cope with her. Lilly, who was once a rebellious teenager herself and who rejected her strictly religious upbringing, is now dependent on alcohol. As a last resort to curb Rachel's behviour, Lilly calls on her mother Georgia (Jane Fonda), who still lives in Idaho, to take care of Rachel for the summer.
Rachel’s San Francisco upbringing has not prepared her for life in small town Idaho, which has a majority Mormon population. There she meets Harlan (Garrett Hedlund), a young Mormon man, who she determines to educate in the ways of the world. She also meets the local vet Simon (Dermot Mulroney), who has recently lost his wife and child in a car accident, and starts working part-time with him. Rachel eventually confides in Simon that her stepfather has been sexually abusing her since the age of 12. Simon of course informs Georgia, who then has to try to sort out not only Rachel’s disrupted life, but also her daughter Lilly’s as well.
Themes
Child sexual abuse; dysfunctional families
Violence
There is some violence in this movie including:
- a verbal fight between Lilly and Rachel
- Rachel's fight with a young boy, Sam
- Georgia restraining Lilly when she’s in a drunken state
- local girls throwing toilet rolls at Rachel
- Rachel verbally taunting and shouting at girls
- Georgia hitting Arnold (Lilly’s husband) with a baseball bat.
Content that may disturb children
Under 15
There are some scenes in this movie that could disturb children under 15, including the following:
- discussion of Rachel’s sexual abuse by her stepfather
- the conflict between mother and daughter (of both generations)
- a scene in which Lilly’s dressing gown comes off during a drunken fight with Georgia, revealing her underwear (although this is not explicitly shown, the incident does happens in front of two young boys who go to her aid)
- Rachel’s sexually precocious manner.
Sexual references
There are many sexual references in this movie, including:
- Rachel taunts Sam (aged about 12) about getting ‘hard’ while she fights with him.
- Rachel tells Simon that she was 12 years old when her stepfather first had sex with her.
- Rachel tells local girls that she’s going to ‘fuck all their boyfriends stupid’.
- Rachel tries to seduce Simon, getting into bed with him in one scene, but he consistently refuses to have sex with her.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
In one scene, there is discussion about Rachel taking LSD and crack in ninth grade. And there are numerous scenes showing Lilly constantly drinking and in a drunken, angry state.
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
- Rachel is always provocatively dressed in skimpy and revealing clothing.
- Rachel takes her knickers off, spreads her legs and tells Harlen he can look and touch if he likes. She then undoes his jeans. Although it is not shown, it is later revealed that she gives him oral sex.
- Lilly and Arnold are shown making passionate love in bed.
- Lilly is shown from a rear view in only her knickers.
Product placement
None
Coarse language
This movie contains frequent medium-level coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Georgia Rule is a serious drama that shows the destructive effect that alcohol and sexual abuse can have on people’s lives. This movie is a good opportunity to discuss with older children the destructive effects of alcohol abuse and attitudes and beliefs about sex and sexuality.