Like Crazy

image for Like Crazy

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Not recommended under 13, PG to 15 (Adult themes; sexual references; substance use; Coarse language)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Like Crazy
  • a review of Like Crazy completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 28 February 2012.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 13 Not recommended due to adult themes, sexual references, alcohol drinking and coarse language
Children aged 13-15 Parental guidance recommended due to adult themes, sexual references and alcohol drinking

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Like Crazy
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Infrequent coarse language and sex scene
Length: 89 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Anna (Felicity Jones) and Jacob (Anton Yelchin) meet and fall in love while students at college in Los Angeles. Anna, however, is on a student visa from the UK and when she overstays her visa is not allowed to return to the US for several years. Anna and Jacob try to maintain their relationship from a long distance, with Jacob travelling to the UK when he can. They even marry to try to get the authorities to change the rules but to no avail. Eventually time and distance take their toll. Jacob can’t settle in the UK and while apart they each find new love interests.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

First love; long distance relationships; immigration laws

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • A strong verbal argument between Anna and Jacob

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

Apart from the argument described above, there is nothing likely to be disturbing in this film

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Apart from the argument described above, there is nothing likely to be disturbing in this film

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Nothing of concern

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Nothing of concern

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • iPhone
  • brands of whisky

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Anna and Jacob discuss whether they’ve slept with other partners while separated.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some partial nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • Scenes of Jacob and Anna in bed together – usually with clothes on, sometimes without but covered by sheets.
  • Jacob and Anna take a bath and a shower together.
  • Anna has sex with a new partner Simon as does Jacob with Samantha.

Use of substances

There is drinking of alcohol  in this movie, including:

  • Quite a lot of drinking at various venues, at home, in pubs, clubs etc. Anna teaches Jacob to ‘drink whisky’. Also drinking out of beer bottles.
  • There are occasions when both Anna and Jacob drink a lot but with no apparent consequences.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • for God’s sake
  • shit      
  • fuck

In a nutshell

Like Crazy is aromantic drama about first love. The characters and situations are honestly portrayed and the film moves through time quite cleverly using tableaux and imagery. The film is likely to appeal to teens and raises some important discussion topics, but parents of younger teens may be concerned about the scenes of sexual activity, drinking and coarse language.

The main messages from this movie are that relationships take effort and commitment and that sometimes many obstacles need to be overcome to make them work.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include honesty and communication in relationships.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children:

  • Their own attitudes towards sex and relationships Anna has a very good relationship with her parents who love her and talk to her quite openly about sex.
  • Whether  the movie adequately shows the effects of drinking too much